You Are My Only One
by asuka02redeva
Summary: The mission was a set up to get him to leave his kunoichi unprotected, now will he make it back to Konoha in time? Now a KakaSaku Pairing Timeline
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first shot with the Kakashi and Sakura pairing. I've really grown to love this couple, so these are actually glimpses of one shots that had been floating around in mind all condensed into one main plot so obviously it's going to be really long, so why not get comfy and enjoy? C'mon if you're a real Kaka-Saku fan you'll just love all the endless fluff. I hope that if you read then you will at least take the time to review.

-

Kakashi was racing back to Konoha, the stars had long since appeared and it was becoming late in the evening. He had been away on a mission for the last two weeks only to find out that the entire thing had been an elaborate setup. The enemy's objective had been to crush him; however, he had gone much further in deciding the best way to defeat the great Copy-Nin was through his heart.

'…_Damn, not Sakura…' _

Memories of his relationship with Sakura were flooding into his mind as he continued toward the Hidden Leaf Village…

-

_Perhaps this was the first time that he had noticed that his feelings for her had changed. She was twenty and he was thirty four; she had grown up first under his tutelage and then under the Hokage herself, where she had become a full fledged medic-nin and a master of chakra control. _

_They had been on a mission (they meaning the new Team Kakashi), himself Naruto, Sakura, and the new comer Sai. They were currently tracking a lead on a member of the infamous Akatsuki. Kakashi was pleased to have Sakura and Naruto along side of him as teammates once more, this time however he was no longer their sensei but their comrade and friend. _

_Kakashi had deemed it best that Naruto and Sai were best suited to team up, while he and Sakura split off to cover more ground. Naruto—even after several years—still complained about Sai and his kind nickname for him 'Dickless.' _

_Kakashi sighed upon hearing Naruto's rants about Sai and why he was always bringing that part of his body into their conversations. He watched the two make their way into the forest, leaving himself and Sakura pretty thankful that their relationship wasn't so…pleasant to say the least. _

_He turned before giving her his classic eye crease, "Ready Sakura?"_

"_Hai," replied Sakura before putting on her gloves, the two took off in the opposite direction as their other two team members._

_However, things did not go according to plan; the Akatsuki had wanted to separate the four man team and had greatly underestimated the two groups. Sakura had quickly responded to the all out assault of kunai and shuriken quickly dodging out of the way. _

_Two members had appeared before them, one had targeted Sakura while the other went after Kakashi hoping to blindside them if they were separated from one another. Throughout the intense battle Sakura had managed to alter the entire terrain that they had been standing on with her chakra enhanced fists, taking out her opponent with the crushing of rocks upon him; therefore giving her time to respond to the condition of her other teammate. _

_When she turned and managed to focus through the dust settling in the air her heart stopped. Kakashi had used the Raikiri far too many times and his sharingan had taken its toll on his body. She felt her breath hitch as she watched his attacker launch a blow that would be fatal toward his fallen form, had she not acted when she did and forced her chakra into her feet at that moment she would have never made contact with the assailant in time. _

_Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up to find himself staring at the back of the young woman who he had always needed to defend in battle, standing before him after sending his attacker crashing into a tree, and taking the tree with him in the process. _

_She tried to catch her breath as she stood in front of him, realizing that he was in no shape to continue and hoping that no more assassins would appear before them, therefore, giving her just enough time to heal him. She slowly turned to face his form sitting before her as she slowly fell to her knees. _

"…_Sakura…" he whispered, his entire body felt like it was going numb, he knew that he would be of no aid to her now, and the gash he had endured from an earlier impact was bleeding profusely causing him to find it hard to focus on the pink haired woman in front of him. _

"_Hai, Kakashi…" she responded, slowly crawling to his side as she placed her hand gently on his stomach, seeing so much blood before her hardly fazed her anymore, she had had much practice in the hospital in Konoha, medic-nins were in such short supply. _

"_Sakura, you should go and find Naruto and Sai," he stated weakly, trying to focus on her face, when he did he managed to find a sea of emotions in her jade eyes as she gently pulled him forward to rest his chin on her shoulder, he could feel her right hand on his stomach, while her left hand remained on the back of his head, her chakra slowly making its way into his body._

"_I won't leave you, Kakashi," she firmly whispered, her fatigue evident in her voice, yet she managed to hold onto him and continue to let her chakra flow into him. _

"_Sakura, you may not have a choice…if you stay…we're both sitting around waiting for an attack," he tried to reason with her, "plus your chakra level can't be too high, you should retain it for—_

_Sakura whispered something into his ear that caused his eyes to widen in response, "Like I would ever leave someone as important to me as you behind, you've got to be joking. So please just stop talking…" her eyes were becoming heavy but she had almost gotten the bleeding to stop, the least she could do would be to give him enough of her chakra to protect himself._

_Kakashi could feel her body growing more and more weak as she continued to heal him, "Sakura…" he was at a loss for words, here was this girl, no, this woman holding him in her arms declaring that she could never leave him for he was important to her. He had known her since she was twelve years old, yet he had never realized that she held him so dear to her heart. _

"…_Shhh…" she whispered as he felt her chin gently resting on his shoulder, her eyes were slowly closing, "…almost done now…" _

_He slowly reached his right arm up and gently placed it on her back, her chakra slowly dissipated as she smiled. _

"…_There…" she began, "the bleeding has stopped and I've healed the wound…" she sighed, her shoulders slumping forward and her body going lax in his arms. _

"_Sakura?" questioned Kakashi, first in alarm but when he felt her hand gently rubbing the back of his head he felt a wave of comfort wash over him._

"…_It's alright, just rest for ten to fifteen minutes Kakashi…I'll be alright then…" with that he felt her breathing become short and even indicating that she had fallen asleep in his embrace._

_He looked over at her peaceful face as she slept safely in his arms. She had placed her life in his hands at that very moment and it was at that moment that he realized that she was an important person in his life as well._

_-_

_Throughout the course of a year Kakashi had realized just how beautiful Team 7's pink haired flower had become. She was now twenty one and he was thirty five but that didn't really matter although it probably should have. _

_He could still be found reading a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, but it was always the kunoichi of the group that could find him, even when he least expected it. _

"_Ohayo, Kakashi," she would greet, sometimes she would be on her way to the hospital, other times she would be returning, but always a smile on her face when she met him. _

"_Ohayo Sakura," he replied, looking over his book at her as she stood before him, today wearing a pink sundress and holding a small bag in her hand. _

"_Ne Kakashi, I thought I might find you here reading your perverted book," she began with a grin before slowly sitting on her knees beside him under the tree._

_He smirked under his mask at her, "And why do you think that my book is perverted Sakura?" he would give into her teasing. _

_She sighed heavily, "Obviously if it's written by Jiraiya then it must be perverted," she stated with conviction, before managing to grab his book from his hand and closing it with one hand. _

"_If you wanted to read it, you could have just said so," he stated in a matter of a fact tone of voice which caused her to shake her head in disgust._

"_Hardly, I just wanted to get your attention," she informed as she opened the bag in her hand and smiled up at him, "So do you like white chocolate or dark chocolate best?" she asked while smiling up at him to catch him blink in confusion. "Here…" she began as she took the chocolates out of the small brown bag._

_Kakashi looked down to find white and dark chocolate flowers before him, "What's the occasion Sakura?" _

_Sakura looked put out, "Mou, Kakashi, can't I just share some chocolates with you without there having to be an occasion?"_

"_Gomen, that is very kind of you to want to share chocolates with an old man," he informed before reaching down to take one of the dark chocolate flowers._

_Sakura sweatdropped, "You're not old Kakashi," she replied before reaching down to take one of the white chocolate flowers and took a small bite. She sighed in content, "These are great…how about yours?" _

_Kakashi gave her a happy eye crease, "Hai, very good," he arched an eyebrow, "What?"_

_She sighed and shook her head; some things would never change, like how had he eaten it without moving his mask? "Nothing…" she mumbled, as he smirked behind his mask. _

_-_

_A few months later the two had grown even closer and after watching Sakura obtain many suitors throughout the course of the years it was than that Kakashi finally realized that Sakura wasn't only important to him, she was more than that. _

_The way she would smile at him when she wanted to share something with him, or the way she would sigh and shake her head as he read his novels, but mainly it was the way that she treated him like she appreciated the fact that he was in her life. _

"_Kakashi," she greeted as she stood before him he was sitting under that same tree, "Naruto and I would like to invite you to go for ramen with us later before we go to our mission debriefing tonight."_

_She stood before him this time wearing her regular attire (post time skip attire, shirt has a noticeable V-neck to it and her hair has stayed short). _

_He looked up at her over his book and his eye landed on her smiling face, "Hai, ramen sounds fine, but Sakura—_

"_Sakura my beautiful blossom!" exclaimed Lee as he stopped short in front of her as she stood up from her leaning position._

"_Ah, Lee-san, Ohayo," she greeted as he gave her a small smile, "Ne, what's wrong Lee-san you look depressed."_

"_Ah, my beloved blossom it is horrible, for I have no date to attend next week's fall festival with," he stated with a sigh, his shoulders slumping, "I have asked every woman in Konoha but alas they all say no…even Gai sensei has found a date before me."_

_Both Sakura and Kakashi froze at that bit of information. Who in their right mind would go out with Gai? They'd have to be good and drunk…wait drunk…or have lost a bet…_

_Sakura sweatdropped, "Ne Lee-san, who is going with Gai to the fall festival?" she asked almost reluctant to know._

"_Why you won't believe this Sakura-chan, Tsunade-sama herself!" he spouted out as both Kakashi and Sakura tried not to laugh out loud. _

'_She definitely lost a bet,' thought Sakura trying so very hard not to snicker, she couldn't wait to talk with Tsunade tonight. _

"_Ano, Lee-san…" she smiled and slowly placed her hand on his shoulder, "You haven't asked every woman in Konoha if you could take them to the fall festival…"_

_Kakashi's eye widened as he looked over his book at the two before him. He watched as Lee's face lit up._

"_Sakura, my beautiful blossom would YOU go to the fall festival with me?" he asked, on the verge of tears that she may actually say yes._

"_Hai," she replied with no hesitation as she watched his head fall forward and tears stream down his face._

"_Oh thank you Sakura-chan…thank you…" he managed in between sniffles._

_Sakura smiled before him, "Ne, its fine Lee-san. You're actually the only one who asked me to go so I would love to be your date." (Note: Only one descent enough to ask her and not expect something more out of her)._

_Kakashi tried to look interested in his book as he drowned out much of their continuing conversation about times, places, what to wear, and where to eat. He looked up when he saw the green spandex clad boy practically skip off in merriment, before turning his attention back to the cherry blossom in front of him. _

_She turned around and smiled before arching an eyebrow at him, "What?" _

_Kakashi went back to his book, he had been on the same page now for almost fifteen minutes, without having even read a single line. "Nothing." _

"_I can tell it must be something," she informed before taking a seat next to him._

_He glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye feeling that she wasn't going to let it drop, "You're going on a date with Lee?"_

"_Hai, what's wrong with that?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow in his direction._

"_Just of all people…you're going on a date with Lee?"_

_Sakura sweatdropped, was Kakashi not getting it, "Hai. On. A. Date. With. Lee."_

"_Ok, just let me get this straight, so you go on a date with Lee—a guy who has been asking you out for years—when you won't go out with any of your other so-called suitors?"_

"_Lee-san's a really great guy, not like the ten or twelve guys who asked me to the festival before him," she informed with a sigh, before looking down at her hands in her lap. _

"_What were the other guys like?" questioned Kakashi, but when she looked up at him with her jade eyes he realized that he had slipped up._

"_Why are you so interested?" she replied, only to find him give a shrug and proceed to read his novel once more. She couldn't help but smile._

_-_

_Winter soon came and the call for missions had died down, snow had hit Konoha and Team 7 was currently on hiatus. The missions prior too had only proven how much both Sakura and Naruto had grown, as well as, their skills. They had come in handy in a number of situations, especially Sakura's medical ninjutsu. She was exceptionally talented and it had not gone unnoticed by her growing suitors. _

_After all she was twenty one and considered to be one of her generation's strongest kunoichis. However, she always felt as if they never truly saw her for who she was, instead of what she was. _

_She was deep in thought when she bumped into someone, "Gomen," she quickly recovered, bowing her head in an apologetic manner._

"_Yo," came a familiar voice._

_She slowly looked up to find Kakashi standing before her as she smiled up at him, his eye locked with her two jade eyes; they stood there for a moment in silence staring at one another, locked in each other's thoughts. _

_Sakura was the first to break the ice, "Ne, cold day isn't it?" she decided any talk about the weather was a good ice breaker._

"_Hai," he replied, glad that she had broken him from his reverie, still standing before her. _

"_I haven't seen you around lately, what have you been doing? Other than reading your novels of course," asked Sakura with a small laugh escaping at the end._

"_Oh, I've been finding ways to entertain myself, and yourself Sakura?" he asked, once again finding his eye locked on her face as she stood before him._

"_Tsunade-Shishou has been running me ragged at the hospital, but today I managed to get out early. Ne, have you eaten? Because I don't think that I've eaten since…hmm…well now I can't remember," she rambled, before rubbing the back of her head nervously and giving a small laugh at her absentmindedness. _

_Kakashi gave her an eye crease, this really was good luck on his part to have been on his way to the Hokage Tower to check in and to have run into Sakura instead, they wouldn't expect him this early anyways, he didn't want to ruin his reputation by starting to arrive early. _

_Sakura unlocked the door to her apartment as she took off her jacket and scarf, "Make yourself at home Kakashi, I'll find us something to eat," she informed, as she walked past the counter she hit the answering machine…_

"_Sakura, my beloved cherry blossom, would you like to go skating with me this weekend?"_

_She sweatdropped as she opened the fridge and pulled out some left over dumplings and set them in the oven to warm up…_

"_Sakura, its Shizune…" Sakura sweatdropped as she heard the whispering, "I can't talk too loud, listen Tsunade…she's found out that we've been hiding her sake…don't come back until I tell you its safe…SHIZUNE WHERE'S MY SAKE—_

_Sakura hung her head as she heard Kakashi let out a slight cough from his spot on the couch, "…Tsunade-sama out of sake, perhaps I won't be stopping by to check in after all…"_

"_Sakura-chan!!!!" Both automatically put their hands over their ears as Naruto's voice rang out over the machine, "SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!!!!" There was a long pause as both Sakura and Kakashi tried to regain hearing in their ears, "I guess you're not in…well, me and Sai (That's Sai and I Dickless) Shut up! Well anyways we want to know if you want to get together for drinks tomorrow night, let me know!"_

_Kakashi smirked under his mask as Sakura set a plate of dumplings down on the coffee table along with two cups of tea. "You sure do get some interesting messages." _

"…_Hai…" she mumbled before picking up a dumpling and taking a bite. "You know…" she blinked finding one less dumpling on the plate and his mask still in place. She sweatdropped and continued, "was it good?"_

"_Hai, thank you," he informed her as she smiled back at him, "Aa, Sakura, you have a little on your face."_

"_I do?" she quickly took the napkin and moved it over her face, "Did I get it?" she asked, clearly embarrassed to have dumpling on her face. _

_He smiled at her and leaned forward gently brushing the dumpling away from the side of her mouth, "Thanks Kakashi…"she began only when she looked up at him did it make matters worse, and that's where it began for both of them…_

_-_

_In the spring she turned 22 and he would be 36 that year, and it wasn't until she noticed the way he looked at her after having finished a date with one of her many suitors that it really dawned on her. _

_Yes, there had been an unspoken attraction between both of them; however, they were never allowed to act on it since age played such a prominent part in Konoha's society. Yet, it was there none the less. _

_Someone caught Sakura's attention out of the corner of her eye, but before she could turn to confirm that it was really him, her suitor gently kissed her cheek. She blinked and slowly brought her hand up to the cheek that the young man had just kissed; he gave her a wink and headed down the street to tell all of his buddies that he had scored a date. _

_He hadn't thought that she had seen him watching her from across the way; it wasn't as though he had intended to even run into her but then he had seen her with her date, and after watching the young man kiss her cheek he felt as though it was now obvious that she could never love him. Of course, she would want men her own age. _

_Kakashi has no sooner turned around with his book in hand to head down the street when he felt a hand on his arm. He stopped in mid step and turned to find Sakura standing next to him. _

"_Kakashi…" she began, they were standing in front of an empty corner of the street, the shops having already closed since it was now eight o'clock in the evening._

"_Yo, Sakura…what's up?" he replied in his nonchalant tone of voice, his façade on his face once more. _

_She looked up at him with her eyes revealing an ocean full of emotions as she smiled. He looked down at her and blinked, trying to read her expression._

"_It's alright…" she whispered, as if he should already know the topic at hand._

_He rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Ano, Sakura…" he gave her that happy eye crease, "Gomen, but I'm not sure what you're talking about…was I supposed to remember something?"_

_She smiled and shook her head as her eyes focused on his one exposed eye, he blinked once more as she continued, "It's alright Kakashi…because…" she took hold of his right hand pushing down his book before standing on her tip toes and whispering, as if it was a secret only meant for him, "…Aishiteru…"_

_His eye widened as the information processed in his mind, he watched as she slowly rested back on her heels and gave him a knowing smile before turning toward her apartment._

_Sakura hadn't gotten more than half way down the darkened and empty street before Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of her. She stopped short before looking up at him, only to feel his arms wrap around her and hold her close. She smiled resting her cheek against his chest before slowly reaching up and placing her arms on his back and returning the hug. _

_And then there was no going back…_

_-_

_Sakura was currently sitting cross legged on her couch wearing a pink tank top and matching pink pajama bottoms reading a report that Tsunade should be reading instead of herself. Even out of work she got stuck with home work, she felt as though she were still in school. She could still hear Tsunade in her drunken state of mind rant on about how she was overworked, and that she needed to hire someone to read through these reports for her and compile them into proper solutions—since Shizune had run out the door with Tonton that left one person._

_Sakura sighed, her eyes were growing heavy and she was only half way through with this one, while four more were currently on her coffee table awaiting her review. _

_Kakashi stood in the doorway, leaning to one side to support his form, he smiled underneath his mask to find his kunoichi falling asleep on her couch with a large report in her hands. The mission had been a success, however, lives had been lost once more, but finding her in front of him unharmed suddenly made the week's mission seem nonexistent._

_She had no sooner closed her eyes and let her head fall forward when she heard his voice. That familiar, 'Yo' rang out through the silence of the room. _

_She slowly opened her eyes before lifting her head and looked toward the doorway of the living room to find her favorite elite jounin leaning up against the side of the doorway. Sakura gave a small smile but then her senses kicked in as she saw that he wasn't voluntarily leaning, he was using the doorway as a crutch. _

_In an instant she had pushed the report aside, he was really bad off this time. She quickly closed the distance between them allowing her enough time to wrap her arms around him and gently lower both him and herself to floor, falling to their knees. _

"…_Kakashi…" she whispered, gently resting her left hand on the back of his head, as he rested his chin on her shoulder, her other hand was roaming around his back trying to detect the wound that she knew existed, "you should have gone to the hospital…"_

"_Sakura," he whispered as he slowly brought his arm up to rest in between her shoulder blades, he needed to feel her in his arms, "…I hate hospitals…you know that…"_

"_Hai, I know…" she replied, not allowing herself to speak above a whisper in fear that her voice would betray her. She moved her hand to the front of his vest and finding the zipper quickly unzipped it before moving her hand inside of the vest to have more access to his back. She was certain that it wasn't his stomach that had received the attack. Her hand was roaming around his back in a frantic search to find the cause of his pain, her hand suddenly stopped when the source had been found, and she quickly forced her chakra into his body. _

_Kakashi slowly brought up his other hand and placed it on the small of her back pushing her closer to him, his chin still resting on her shoulder. He could feel the warmth of her chakra wash over him while her other hand gently rubbed the back of his head in a loving manner. _

"_Sakura…" he whispered, wanting to make sure that she was really with him, the amount of blood loss clouding his thoughts._

"_Hai…" she responded, resting her cheek against the side of his masked face, "just be still for a while longer Kakashi…this one was really deep. It's amazing that you made it to my apartment."_

_He inhaled her essence and the warmth of her body as she embraced him, "I wouldn't have missed seeing you falling asleep in amongst a pile of reports that probably weigh more than you, and wearing such cute pajamas." _

"_You baka," she informed him, feeling the wound begin to stop bleeding, "the hospital was so much closer…instead you decide to come and bleed on my carpet," she joked to mask her worry._

"_I prefer the treatment here over the hospital," he simply stated, feeling the hand on his back start to relax knowing that once more he was out of danger. _

"_Oh?" she asked, letting a small sigh escape from her lips when she had confirmed that the wound was closing properly. _

"_Hai," he chuckled, but then thought otherwise for it hurt too much, "the food is better and there's this really cute medic-nin that I love to have treat my wounds."_

_Sakura rolled her eyes and she could feel the smirk on his face, "Really? A cute medic-nin you say? And why do you prefer to have her heal you?"_

_His masked lips gently kissed her shoulder, "She has the best hands and I love to feel them on my skin," he explained with a grin._

"_You're hopeless," she tried to sound put out but she had failed miserably, as she felt his lips leave her shoulder. _

_Kakashi wanted to see her face so badly. To look into her eyes and feel as though nothing else existed—which was partly true because whenever they were alone it was as though age was no longer relevant, neither could feel their gap in ages, and their criticizing society no longer plagued them . _

_Sakura smiled at him as she watched him look her over as if memorizing the way she looked as they both sat before one another on the carpeted floor in her living room. She slowly brought up both of her hands and placed them on the sides of his face. _

"_You truly are a baka…" she murmured before kissing his masked lips._

_He gave her that typical eye crease, "I missed you too," he whispered feeling that the fabric was getting in the way, he was about to remove the mask when he felt her hands move to the fabric that held his hitai-ate and begin to untie the knot. _

"…_Sakura…" his voice seemed quite serious as he felt her kisses cease. _

"_Hai?" she replied, having stopped in mid kiss to watch his masked face for any traces of what could currently be on his mind._

"…_You don't have to…" he stated, watching both of her eyes._

"_Don't have to what?" she arched an eyebrow in confusion, unsure as to what he could possibly be trying to tell her._

"_You don't have to look at it…" he whispered, watching her face for any sign of relief for having spared her the disgust of having to look at him. _

_Sakura eyes searched in his own, 'It?' she wondered, and then realization dawned on her, 'The scar…'_

_Kakashi's eye widened as he felt her fingers gently loosening the knot before slowly removing the hitai-ate from his forehead. His sharingan eye remained closed as he continued to watch her face, she had turned her face away from him to set his hitai-ate down on the carpet before turning her attention back to him. _

"…_You don't have to love everything…" he sadly explained, fearing that she was disgusted with his imperfect face, he reached toward the disregarded hitai-ate. _

_He blinked when he felt his face being cupped in her hands, she slowly leaned forward, her eyes closed as she tenderly placed a light kiss on his closed eyelid over the middle of the scar that had forever altered his life. Her lips gently lingered over the scar, finding no fault with the way he looked._

_Kakashi felt his entire world cease at that moment, as he held her with one arm, his hand having still lingered on the hitai-ate. In that moment he had never loved anyone more than he loved her; she slowly removed her lips from his eyelid and opened her eyes, her green orbs watching his one opened onyx orb, as she still held his face in her hands. _

_He gently brought his hand up to her cheek and caressed it with the side of his thumb, before slowly leaning in to her. He was stopped short having felt her hands move from their current position. _

_Sakura smiled playfully before gently pulling down his mask first over his nose, her smile widening as she savored this moment—she had kissed him before without his mask but never like the one that she now anticipated— and then ever so slowly to his neck. His arm tightened around her as she closed her eyes and their lips met. _

_-_

_The four man team had been assembled once more; Naruto and Kakashi were off to do surveillance while Sakura and Sai were off to scope out the western side of the village. _

_Naruto sweatdropped and whispered, "Sakura-chan, do you think it's really a good idea for you to go with Sai?"_

"_What's wrong Dickless would you rather accompany me? I suppose I would prefer your company over the hag," informed Sai with that fake smile plastered on his face._

_Naruto growled, "Why do you always have to bring that up?! And Sakura-chan's not a hag!"_

"_Thanks Naruto," thanked Sakura while sweatdropping as she noticed the tension between the two._

"_Funny, looks like one to me," commented Sai, with a shrug of his shoulders, "Can't imagine any man wanting to take that to bed."_

_Naruto was frozen in time as he looked at the baka in front of him, he had definitely crossed the line; hell, even Kakashi had looked over his book toward the two in front of him (it must be bad because his book was just getting to the really good part too). _

_Sakura merely smiled and gave a shrug, "Well, that's something that we both have in common then," she declared and smirked when Sai raised an eyebrow, "You're obviously gay because you're always so concerned about how big Naruto is, and certainly no man in his right mind would want to take you to bed either." _

_Naruto's mouth nearly dropped and Kakashi's eye couldn't grow any wider as both looked at Sai who for once in his life was NOT smiling. _

"_Well then, let's go!" cheered Sakura as she picked up her pack and put it over her shoulders, "Ne Naruto, Kakashi, we'll see you later," she informed as she shot them a wink before turning and walking past a bewildered Sai. _

"_Way to go Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto before looking at Kakashi with an interested expression, "Ne Kakashi, what are you thinking about?"_

"_Nothing Naruto, nothing at all," he replied, a smirk appearing on his face from behind his mask as he watched his pink haired kunoichi saunter away from them. _

_-_

_Alas all good things must come to an end the sooner both of them realized it the better. Their society would not accept their relationship and it was cruel for them to pretend otherwise; however, in reality they would realize that it was crueler to be apart._

_Sakura had shown up at his apartment that evening after work; Kakashi had asked her to meet him there and now she stood before him, however, she realized that something was wrong the moment she walked in through the doorway and he didn't give her one affectionate gesture. _

_She had felt this feeling in the pit of her stomach ever since he had returned from his last mission. She was used to being on the receiving end when it came to her feelings being shattered before her. _

"_It's not right," she had heard him speak, the words were jumbled and it was hard for her to hear everything that he was telling her, he stood before her with his hands in his pockets, he couldn't even bare to look at her. The sound of her own heart beating was nearly shattering her ear drums, "You deserve someone your own age." _

_Reality came crashing down upon her, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry. She had always feared that his day would come, she merely stood there, her bangs covering her face so he couldn't read her expression, "I believe that it's best for both of us, I couldn't possibly give you the life that you want," it was getting harder to breath it hurt so much. Then that underlying thought was finally voiced and she thought for sure that she would be sick, "And you couldn't possibly fulfill all of my needs." _

_Yes, she knew she was young, but she had really hoped that her age would not affect their relationship, but when he had mentioned his needs…she truly felt as though she was a teenager once more with a silly crush on a man who would never return her love. Even with Sasuke-kun, it hadn't hurt this much…_

_Mustering up the rest of her dignity she managed to lift her head, so that her gaze fell on him, she was not going to cry. After all, she was Haruno Sakura, love was always cruel to her and she had been cursed with her intellect. She knew all of these things even before he had voiced them; however, she had one request and she prayed that he wouldn't deny her._

"…_Kakashi?" her voice sounded dull and she knew it, but there wasn't anything she could do about it for now, she had just been dealt a severe blow to the heart the fact that she wasn't in tears was an achievement in itself._

_Kakashi hesitantly turned to face his kunoichi for perhaps the last time; it had been a mistake for the look she gave him was heartbreaking, yet she shed no tears as he had prepared himself for. "Hn?" Yes, he pulled a Sasuke, he couldn't even reply with a simple yes or no in fear that his own voice would betray him._

_She inhaled and then somehow she managed to keep it together, with a tone that was almost void of emotion she continued, "You'll still be my friend…right?" _

_Kakashi couldn't believe what she had just asked of him, she wanted his friendship? He thanked God for the mask he wore, for today he knew that his face would deceive him._

_The silence endured and suddenly Sakura felt as though she had been wrong to assume that he would want to be her friend. She really was a silly person, to think that a man who had once been her sensei, her teammate, and her lover could ever allow himself to revert back to being her friend. _

"…_Alright, well…" she had to pause in between her thoughts, choose her words carefully, this was already tough enough she didn't need him kicking her out of his apartment for being a nuisance…not that she already didn't feel like one for staying so long in the home of a man who had obviously wanted nothing to do with her. She cleared her throat to give herself the courage to continue, "you can think about it…or…"_

_He noticed the way that her eyes were falling to the floor and to the sides of the room as if in thought and then when she continued he felt a jolt of pain enter into his body. _

"_I could ask Tsunade-Shishou to put me on another team…I'm sure that Ino could take my place…" she went on to explain, "…she's really improved as a medic-nin…so…yeah…she could do the job. I think I'll ask Tsunade-Shishou this week…"_

_Kakashi couldn't believe that this was the same girl that he had once prepared as a genin. She now stood before him declaring that she would leave his team and even offered a replacement; Sakura hadn't even argued or cried…she merely accepted his words to be true._

_Hearing no objections from his side of the room she felt that she had definitely overstayed her welcome and she could feel the embarrassment washing over her. For someone so smart, how could she be so slow? She had been rambling on for the past ten minutes after he had made it quite clear that they were no longer a couple, hell, they were no longer friends and they obviously couldn't be teammates. _

_Sakura felt so stupid but with the last of her pride she managed to excuse herself from his apartment, "Well…" she whispered, her voice hadn't failed her yet and it wasn't going to, "good bye…" she couldn't bring herself to say his name, before she turned and headed toward the door. _

_He stood there watching her retreating form head toward the door that once closed would forever separate them. She was leaving not only himself but Naruto as well, all to save face and make things easier for the both of them. He knew that outside of the hospital he would never be able to see her, their paths rarely ever crossed in the two and a half years that she and Naruto sought teachings elsewhere. _

_She was the only kunoichi that he had ever passed, the only one that he was proud to watch grow stronger, the only one that said that his life mattered to her, and the only one that he would ever consider to be part of his family. _

_He was knocked out of his reverie when he heard the click of the front door as it closed behind her and listened as her footsteps echoed down the hallway…_

_Sakura truly thought that the dam would have broken by now, but she guessed that after working around death and heartbreak for so long that part of her had been closed off. She did, however, feel very sick inside her stomach, and her heart felt like it had far too much strain on it. _

_She tried to disregard these feelings as her apartment came into view. Once behind closed doors in the quiet of her own home, she would be able to write up her request for a transfer, or perhaps she would leave the missions behind. Seriously, she could be replaced, Ino would do just fine. She even let a smile appear on her face at the thought of Ino hanging all over Sai and Naruto ranting about being stuck with the fan girl. Hai, it was really going to be for the best…she'd start writing tonight…_

_She quietly unlocked the door and pulled the door closed behind her, locking it, and slowly turning on the lap in the living room. She hummed because it sounded right and the silence was drowning her. She reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a piece of stationary and a pen before sitting down to write. _

_**I Haruno Sakura, wish to be transferred to another team effectively immediately due to the fact that I feel as though my skills are no longer required. I feel as though I am a hindrance to the group and I would prefer to have another medic-nin assigned to team Kakashi. Perhaps Yamanaka Ino would be a good candidate; I can speak highly of her skill level having trained her myself. If no other teams are in need of a medic-nin at this time than I would appreciate being allowed to use my expertise at the Konoha medical facility so that I may still utilize my skills. Sincerely, Haruno Sakura **_

_Even as he read the note on her desk he still couldn't believe it. Sakura had actually gone through with it and she was going to leave the team because he couldn't even bring himself to voice that he would always be her friend. It didn't matter that he desired more than friendship from her, Naruto would not advance if she was not with them, and he couldn't see himself being the one to tell him that their pink haired cherry blossom was not returning to accompany them on any further missions. _

_Kakashi slowly opened the door to her bedroom to find her sprawled out on top of the sheets, wearing a white tank top and white pajama shorts, lying on her back, her pink tresses on the pillow. She looked so peaceful to think that he would never again have the privilege of sleeping along side of her and admiring her as she slept. He turned to leave but it was as if his feet were rooted to the ground; it was wrong, he knew it, deep down she must as well…but the fourteen years seemed to be nonexistence when they were together…was it truly wrong to love someone regardless of one's age?_

_Sakura lay asleep unaware that he had made his way over to her bed and quietly taken a seat on the side positioning himself right next to her sleeping form. She really had been exhausted after the entire ordeal and had succumbed to sleep after writing her letter. She didn't feel her upper body be lifted from the mattress until she felt two strong arms silently embracing her. _

_Her eyes shot open as the horrible possibilities went through her mind, she gasped almost panic stricken, until she heard his voice breathe her name, "…Sakura…"_

_Her breathing returned to normal as she assessed the situation, "…Kakashi?" she whispered, at first she thought that the entire ordeal had been a bad dream, yes he must be comforting her after a nightmare, but then that same sick feeling entered her body once more and she knew that it hadn't been a dream, "…What are you…why are you?" _

_Kakashi placed his hand on the back of her head as he gently rested his chin on her shoulder, his other arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close to his own body. He could feel the tension in her body and he hated it, knowing that he was the reason for it, how could he have ever lied to her like that?_

"…_Sakura, I can't let you go…" he whispered, as she listened to the words that were escaping, trying to clear her mind of all the information that it had already been trying to process, "…I thought that it was for the best…"_

"_But you said that our age difference was important…that I needed to find and ultimately marry someone my own age…" she took a breath listening to his hitched breath as she continued, "that I needed to love someone else…"_

_The entire time she hadn't even risen her arms up to embrace him, they hung loosely at her sides as if she was unsure of how to use them. "…Isn't that what you wanted?" she asked, clearly confused about the whole ordeal, "…Don't you want me to love someone else? Don't you want to be loved by someone your own age…not someone like me?"_

"_Sakura…" his voice was muffled as he kissed her shoulder, it was breaking his heart, she wasn't responding to him in the least way and she was limp as a doll in his embrace, and her words, although once spoken by him hurt, "…No…I don't want that…" words were never his forte, this he knew, but he had to try, if nothing more he couldn't let her leave his team._

_Sakura's mind was racing, what is it that he wanted from her, "You don't want me to fall in love? You don't want to fall in love? …I don't understand…" she whispered her voice so hallow, "…I just don't understand…"_

_The image of her when he had broken up the fight on the roof of the hospital between Naruto and Sasuke entered his mind. She had run out in the middle of the two boys who would have ultimately killed her and themselves; he had watched as her tears fell down her cheeks as she cried 'Kaka-sensei…' because she didn't understand. Even then it had been hard to try and console her…_

"_Sakura," he whispered, he couldn't just pat her on the head anymore and tell her to cheer up, no this time it was so much harder, "…I don't need to fall in love with anyone…for I already have you…" _

_Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment at his statement, but before she could voice her thoughts he continued, "…And I don't want you to fall in love with anyone…because hopefully you feel that you already have me…" _

_It was selfish he knew it, and no matter how many times he tried to convince himself that it was wrong…he couldn't do it. He had come to her apartment for some reason unknown to him and once he saw her the pain that had washed over him at the idea of never being with her again had taken its toll and clearly washed away any doubts he might have had about their relationship. Perhaps two people really couldn't deny love?_

"_Sakura…" he whispered to her still unmoving form, and he realized in that moment that he had truly lost her, and now it was time for him to gather his dignity and retreat like the lone wolf that he knew he was, reluctantly and painstakingly slowly he began to unwrap his arms from around her, knowing that it would be the last time that he was allowed to be this close to her. _

_Sakura felt his arms slowly leaving her body, her mind had processed everything, and despite what her mind told her, her heart told her differently. She felt him sigh once more before gently kissing her shoulder and inhaling her essence, she felt as though he was trying to memorize her…just like the night he had been injured and she had made him aware of the fact that he didn't need to be self conscious around her. It was alright…she didn't need to give up just yet…he had put himself on the line and in his own manner he had told her that he loved her…it was enough…right?_

_When she felt his only remaining arm start to release her from his hold she realized that he would never again hold her this way, and just when Kakashi believed that all hope was lost he felt her hand on the back of his head, keeping his chin on her shoulder. _

_He hesitantly began to wrap his arms around her once more but stopped himself, his hands covering in mid air a few inches from her body trying to confirm what it was she wanted._

"…_It's alright Kakashi…" she repeated to him the words that she had spoken that day, "…because… aishiteru…" _

_Sakura smiled when she felt his arms gently rest on her back and felt the heavy sigh that he had been holding in. She gently reached up with her other hand and untied his hitai-ate from around his forehead and placed it on the bed beside them. He lifted his head from her chin and watched her face as she reached up with both hands and gently slid down his mask, closing her eyes she kissed his lips and smiled inside of the kiss when he responded. _

_She cracked open one eye to watch his face and then wrapped her arms around his neck, "Baka…" she mumbled, fatigue getting the better of her as she rubbed her nose against his, "…next time you have a dumb ass idea like breaking up with me, can you not come so late at night and wake me up?" she closed her eyes and sighed, "…I want to go back to bed now…" _

_He gave her that happy eye crease of his and slowly leaned back onto the bed with her, "Hai, Sakura-chan…" only to receive a light bop to the head. _

"…_Baka…" she uttered before drifting off to sleep safe within his arms. _

_-_

_Kakashi blinked as he stood in the doorway to Sakura's living room to find her lying on her back on the couch with a blanket over her. He sweatdropped, was he really that late? He could have sworn that it was only four in the afternoon so why was his kunoichi asleep on her couch._

"_Yo,what's up?" he began with his usual greeting as he watched her open one eye and then groan before pulling the blanket up over her head, "…that bad huh?" _

"_Go away Kakashi…" she mumbled underneath the blanket, her head resting on her pillow._

_Kakashi blinked as he hovered over her, "What's wrong Sakura?"_

"…_I have the flu…" she muttered, feeling the blanket be pulled down to her neck and slowly opening an eye she saw his face hovering over her own, "…Mou…I look like hell and I feel as though I got hit by Chouji's baika no jutsu…"_

_Kakashi winced, "Oh that does sound bad…but no I wouldn't say that you looked like hell…I've seen hell and it looks a lot better."_

_Sakura's eye twitched, if she had enough chakra in her body she'd have sent him flying with a chakra enhanced fist at that very moment. Instead she muttered something incoherent and placed the blanket over her head once more. _

_Kakashi rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Ne Sakura-chan…come now, I didn't mean it…"_

"…_Ne Kakashi-sensei…" she replied, obviously not finding anything funny with the situation at hand, "you've had your fun now go away."_

_Kakashi sweatdropped, she had pulled out the 'sensei' she really wasn't very placed with his little joke, as he gently pulled down the blanket to reveal one pissed off face before him. _

"_How long have you been on the couch?" he asked seriously. _

_Sakura sighed and looked at the clock on the wall it read ten past four, "…Well…I got up this morning, made it to the phone and called Shizune, that was around seven…and then the couch was where I made it to…"_

_He shook his head; no this wouldn't do, "So you've been on the couch this entire time? Have you eaten anything today?" _

"_No, I was too exhausted to move, I only woke up when I heard you enter the living room," she explained. _

_Kakashi sighed before patting her head with his hand, "Do you want me to heat you up some soup Sakura-chan?"_

_She sighed in reply, he always had a way of making her forget that she was trying to be angry with him, "…Mou…you don't have to…" _

_He gave her that happy eye crease in reply and disappeared around the corner into the kitchen to heat up a bowl of soup for her. She sighed quietly before pulling the blanket up over her head once more, she really felt like hell._

_She had no sooner closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep once more when the smell of chicken soup invaded her senses. It was a sweet gesture she had to admit, but the fact remained that there was a great deal of effort that was involved with eating soup and she just couldn't bring herself to being up for the task at hand. _

"_Thanks but I really don't think I'm up for eating," she whispered from underneath her blanket, "you can go now Kakashi…you'll catch the flu if you stay…"_

_She blinked as she felt the blanket slide down once more and found him gently pulling her up into a sitting position, she loosely placed her arms around his shoulders as she felt her back lean against the pillow on the arm of the couch. Kakashi smiled and placed the tray with the bowl of soup over her lap before ruffling her hair. _

"_Always thinking about everyone else over yourself," he informed, moving his hand to her cheek and smirking under his mask, "you know I think you might be tied with hell now."_

_She glared at him letting out a sigh and picking up the spoon to begin eating. She noted the happy eye crease as she slowly ate, it did taste good she had to admit. When he was satisfied that she had eaten enough he picked up the tray and removed it from her lap. _

"_Wouldn't you much rather sleep in your bed Sakura-chan?" _

"_Hai," she replied, slowly removing the remainder of the blanket from her body and ready to leave the couch when she watched his arm go under her knees and his other arm around her back before lifting her off the couch. "Mou, I could have done it," she stated, not that she really minded though as she placed her arms around his neck._

"_Hai, hai, I know," he informed mockingly before carrying her back to bed._

_Upon setting her down and covering her up he leaned down and kissed her forehead with his masked lips. She smiled before closing her eyes, "Thanks Kakashi."_

_-_

_It was going to be one of those days for team Kakashi. Today's mission entailed splitting up, normally not a problem but Sai was truly pushing his luck with Sakura that day. _

"_Kakashi I want to go with Sakura-chan," cried Naruto, trying to ease some of the friction between his teammates._

"_It's alright Naruto, I'm sure that Sakura and Sai will work out their differences, you can go with Sakura next time, ok?" informed Kakashi, before turning a page in his book. "I need you with me for this task."_

_Naruto let out a defeated sigh and turned his attention back to Sai who was really outdoing himself today with the names._

"_Be careful Sakura-chan!" he called out to her watching both of them head out._

"_Hai, you too Naruto, see you soon!" she replied, twitching as she felt that Sai was going to open his mouth._

"_Hai, the ugly old hag and I will see you both when we have collected our information. Although, I don't know how we can possibly obtain any information, your looks will surely scare off anyone," commented Sai, smiling as he turned his attention back to Sakura._

"…_Sai…" her tone was a warning, her patience was wearing thin and both Naruto and Kakashi could hear their conversation, "I'm going to give you three options…if you don't quit calling me ugly, old, and hag."_

"_Alright dog, what would those three options be?" his voice rang out in a carefree manner. _

_Yes, either he was just really stupid or he couldn't tell when Sakura was losing her temper. Both Naruto and Kakashi sweatdropped watching their pink haired flower stop walking, her back to them._

"…_Option number one…" she began, her voice low and her temper flaring, "see that stick over there?" she motioned to a large stick on the ground nearby. _

"_Hai, hag I can detect a stick…" _

_Twitch. _

"_Good…that's option number one, that stick shoved up your ass."_

_Move in on Naruto and Kakashi's dead pan faces, knowing that she'd do it too…_

"_Option number two…I can shove this kunai up your ass or down your throat which ever you prefer…"_

"_And the third option dog face?" _

_TWITCH. _

"_The third option," she had a really large aura around her body, the twitching had increased tenfold, "I can send you flying with a chakra enhanced fist and pick up your discarded form when I catch up to you if you don't shut the hell up…"_

_And then he just had to press his luck, "I'd like to see you try it…Ugly. Old. Hag."_

_Naruto's mouth nearly dropped open and Kakashi couldn't wince enough as he watched his kunoichi send Sai's small form which was currently disappearing from view flying into the forest before them. _

_Sakura stood silently as she watched his form disappear from view before letting her shoulders slump, "Mou…" she groaned, "that's definitely going to be more than a mile…on the other hand at least it will be quiet."_

"…_Bye…Sakura-chan…" nervously stated Naruto, as he brought his hand up to wave to her, a dumbfounded look on his face. _

_Well no one ever said that Hatake Kakashi was sane…he watched the kunoichi that had stolen his heart and sweatdropped as she walked into the forest ranting about being stuck with a baka for a teammate. _

_-_

_Sakura had reported to Tsunade's office bright and early as requested. Tsunade had mentioned a new mission that would be a two man group due to the nature of the mission at hand. _

"_A scroll has been stolen and must be retrieved. Sakura, as my apprentice I feel that you are highly qualified to perform this task. You will find the target in this sector of the country. He is well known for being a womanizer and for spending lots of money at particular night clubs."_

_Sakura sweatdropped, why had Tsunade decided to send her of all people for such a 'wonderful' task. "Ne, Tsunade-Shishou, why me, if I may ask?"_

"_Well Sakura, being my student and all," proudly proclaimed Tsunade before flipping her hair and giving her protégé a wink, "I would like to think that my attributes have rubbed off on you…"_

_Sakura sweatdropped as she thought, 'In other words, you're so open about being a woman and flaunt it around that I should do the same and get this pervert to fall for my charms in order to obtain the scroll.'_

"_Alright Tsunade-Shishou…and who shall be accompanying me on this adventure?" she was almost a little hesitant to ask._

"_I will need to send an elite jounin with you as back up…since many are on S-Rank missions at this time the selection process was limited."_

_Sakura could feel her breath get caught in her lungs. No please NOT Gai! Anyone but him! She'd take Genma…wait…he's a pervert…hell she'd STILL take him over Gai! How could anyone be inconspicuous with him around?_

_There came a knock on the door as Tsunade grinned from behind her desk, "Here he is now…"_

_Sakura was still praying for it to NOT be a green spandex clad man spouting about youthfulness; she blinked before turning her head after hearing a familiar voice._

"_Ah Kakashi, thank you for coming, you're only half an hour late thankfully…" informed Tsunade before looking up at the two, "Sakura is your teammate for the mission that I had previously discussed with you about obtaining a stolen scroll."_

_So now the two had checked into an inn, each entering separate rooms that were connected by an adjoining door. Sakura sweatdropped as she took out the garment that was supposed to be her dress for the evening. _

'_Tsunade-Shishou…you really out did yourself this time…' she thought with a sigh before taking the garment bag into the bathroom with her in order to get ready for their evening. _

_About an hour later there came a knock on the adjoining door to their rooms as Sakura peeked her head out of the bathroom, placing her second earring into her ear, "Yo, Sakura?"_

"_Hai, just a minute Kakashi," she replied, before taking one more look at herself in the mirror, she turned off the light in the bathroom and straightened out her dress before walking over to the door and slowly placing her hand on the knob, turning it she stepped to the side to allow him in._

_She saw his attire before he was able to see hers having positioned herself behind the door and peeking her head out. He wore a black mask, his hitai-ate missing in action, allowing his hair to defy gravity on its own. Her eyes went to the white buttoned long sleeved dress shirt and the black dress pants, followed by the black dress shoes that she was certain that Tsunade had packed for him; Sakura hardly thought that Kakashi was capable of picking out the outfit himself. _

_She smiled, "I hardly recognized you for a moment," she teased as he let out a sigh, obviously not enjoying being so dressed up. _

_Kakashi turned his attention toward her and noticed that her hair was up, twisted in the back with flowered pins, the shorter pieces of her hair hung effortless to the sides of her face and she wore silver hoop earrings, a subtle amount of make up evident on her face. Sakura tried to keep a poker face as she moved to close the door behind him, taking her time to shut the door in order to allow him to get a better look at her dress before turning around to meet his eye. _

_When she turned around she could almost feel the blush rise to her cheeks from the look that he was giving her. She stood in front of him wearing a red satin halter topped dress with an ample v-neck, the dress itself was form fitting with a low back and a slit that went up mid thigh on the right side, while the rest of the dress length was around her ankles, and a pair of red small heeled open toed shoes with a strap supporting the back and front._

_Sakura sweatdropped, he wasn't saying anything. Alright, so she never got dressed up and she didn't even get to pick the dress but she thought that she looked alright. _

"…_Mou…Kakashi…it's not that bad, is it?" she managed moving her hands that were currently behind her back nervously. _

_She blinked, having felt his arms wrap around her had caused her to look up. She blushed as she heard him whisper, "…You're beautiful…"_

_An hour later they were sitting in the back of the night club observing their target from their perch as he was currently making a scene with a table full of women to do his bidding. Sakura had noted that he was a man in his late fifties early sixties, with a love for alcohol, if his gut was any indication. He was currently sporting a grey suit, the jacket opened to reveal a black dress shirt; perhaps a button had popped along the way as he took another shot of liquor. His hair was short and slick due to an ample amount of hair gel she had determined as she watched in disgust as he kissed the neck of one of the women at the table._

"…_This guy is unbelievable…" she whispered to Kakashi as he snaked his arm around her back and pulled her closer. _

"_He's a typical business man, however, if our sources are correct he should be meeting someone here tonight that will have the scroll," he replied, before taking another drink from his own glass. _

_Sakura sighed, still watching their target as he continued to make an ass out of himself, before leaning into Kakashi and resting her head against his shoulder. She could feel his smile on her before he placed a kiss on the top of her head with his masked lips. At least the night wasn't a total waste, at least here she could be seen in public with him and show her affection for him._

_She sweatdropped as yet another guy smiled in her direction, "…Mou…that's like the tenth guy tonight…" she muttered, "what's with them?"_

_Kakashi grinned behind his mask, "Sakura-chan is so kawaii…" he teased obviously tempting fate._

_Sakura let out a sigh of annoyance before retorting, "And Kakashi-sensei is such a baka…" she gently elbowed him in the stomach as he gave her a happy eye crease in return._

"_Besides, I could always make them stop," he informed, watching as she quickly caught on to his game and smiled before placing her hands on the sides of his masked face._

"_I think you should…" she whispered, as he slowly leaned down bridging the gap between them. She was about to close her eyes when her attention went back to their target who was now ushering his adoring and drunken playmates out of the booth to greet a man wearing a suit and tie. "…Gomen…" she whispered, placing her finger to his still masked lips, "looks like our sources were right."_

_Both turned their attention toward the new comer who discretely pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to his accomplice. The couple decided to remain inconspicuous while a waiter asked them for any refills. _

_Sakura had her arms around his neck and was currently embracing him, the right side of her face resting on his shoulder so she could continue to observe the pair. Kakashi had one hand on her lower back while the other hand gently massaged in between her shoulder blades._

"_What do you think?" she whispered, allowing her right hand to rub the back of his head affectionately. _

"_I believe that it's definitely the object we're after," he replied, keeping his voice low as he appeared to be focused on her in his arms. _

_Sakura groaned inwardly as she watched him place the scroll in his jacket pocket. She hugged Kakashi a little more tightly at the thought of having to put those attributes that Tsunade had mentioned to good use. As if feeling her apprehension he whispered, "Sakura…what's wrong?"_

"_There's no way that we're going to be able to get that scroll without causing a scene…who knows how many guards this guy has…" she whispered in reply, watching the transaction finish and the man excuse himself she knew that it was now or never, "…I'll get the scroll…" she finished, sounding put out about the entire situation._

_Kakashi blinked until his mind processed what her words meant, "Sakura, we can just monitor him until he leaves the club, then we can retrieve the scroll."_

"…_Tsunade-Shishou said that we should do this as quietly as possible and avoid confrontation at all costs because this is a rare situation with only a two man team."_

_Kakashi shot a glance over at the man who obviously had consumed a great deal of alcohol and who was a well known womanizer to boot. Now it was she who felt his apprehension, as she lifted her head from his shoulder and cupped his face in her hands._

"_I'll take the scroll from him…" she whispered before closing her eyes and kissing his masked lips, as he felt him return the kiss._

_She let out a sigh, hanging her head in defeat before slowly removing herself from him. Kakashi watched as his kunoichi headed toward the table of their target…_

_Sakura was currently dreading every moment, she would have to become a vixen in order to seduce this drunken perverted old man…she felt that she would have had more fun with Jiraiya and that was saying something…_

_Kakashi continued to watch out of the corner of his eye as the scene unfolded before him, Sakura had greeted and had readily been accepted to his table, she had sat so that the slit of her dress was open to intentionally expose her leg. He could hear the slurred speech of their target as he called her lovely and that he'd remember someone who looked like her, so she must be new around these parts. _

_Sakura was currently trying not to be intoxicated herself from the smell of alcohol on his breath, as she felt him wrap an arm around her back and pull her into his own body. She smiled while her inner was screaming 'Watch it bastard!' She could feel a twitch tugging at the corner of her lips as she felt his hand running up her exposed leg, and his lips upon hers instantaneously._

_Inner Sakura was having a field day with coming up with every crude word in the book for this guy while Sakura decided that she would have had to of gotten close to him in order to obtain the scroll anyways. So although it went against every fiber of her being she pretended to kiss him in return as her hands gently went in search of the scroll that he had pocketed within his jacket._

_Kakashi had felt that now had been a great time to take another swig of alcohol as he watched the man make a scene with his kunoichi. His mind was currently the only thing that was keeping him restrained from going down to the table and removing the pervert from the scene, but he knew that she had a better chance of retrieving the scroll and that the details of the mission had stated to avoid confrontation unless unavoidable. _

_Sakura had to hold back the grin that wanted so desperately to find its way to her face when she had found the scroll in his breast jacket pocket. Applying a small amount of chakra to her fingers to numb his skin so that he wouldn't be able to feel her moments she continued along with the façade until she had managed to remove the scroll from his jacket. When the waiter came to ask if they needed anything it was the perfect opportunity for her to place the scroll in the kunai pouch that she had concealed on her thigh._

"_So where were we?" asked the man before turning around, completely oblivious to the fact that she had cast a genjutsu on him and that he was currently talking to thin air._

_Sakura had taken the opportunity to excuse herself while he was ordering another round of drinks and had quickly made her way to the back door of the club. Kakashi had seen her swiftly move for the back door and had taken the opportunity to pay the waitress and lazily walk after her in order not to draw any attention._

_Once outside Sakura couldn't help but want to brush her teeth and drink an entire bottle of mouth wash. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt two arms wrap around her from behind. _

"_That was disgusting…" she simply stated, leaning back into his embrace as she felt his chin on her shoulder._

"_Hai…but I take it that you got what we were after…" he replied, as he watched her reach down and pull the object in question out of her concealed pouch. _

_Sakura held it up for him to take, "Here, it's probably safer with you; I don't think he'll try to kiss you to get it back." _

_-_

_He would be leaving for a mission tomorrow morning which could take anywhere between two weeks and a month depending on the success rate. Sakura had decided that he wouldn't be eating well for a while so she might as well be hospitable and offer to cook for him. Kakashi's idea of cooking was instant ramen, mind you…hell…even Naruto had that one down…_

_She smiled as she watched him sit before her and open his mouth as he had been instructed, he then closed his mouth and had to say, "Is it poison?"_

_Twitch. "It will be if you don't shut up."_

"_Its poison isn't it? I hardly ever see you cook—" she cut him short as she placed the chopsticks in his mouth and waited as she watched him chew._

_Mismatched eyes went into happy eye creases before her, "Good?" she questioned as he opened his eyes. _

"_Broiled saury, how did you know that it was my favorite?"_

_She sweatdropped, God was he forgetful or what? She had only known him for ten years and gone on far too many missions to count in that time period…people do happen to take note of things like what other people tend to order. _

"…_Must have been a lucky guess…" she replied in an unbelieving tone of voice before passing him the chopsticks, "Well eat up, I don't think saury is on the menu for this mission."_

_Kakashi kissed her forehead, standing next to her bed, "Sakura?"_

_She kept her eyes closed, "…Hai?" she whispered tiredly, her head resting on her pillow._

"_I'll see you when I get back," he stated before patting her head and pulling the covers up closer around her. He went to turn to leave when he felt her hand grab his own, causing him to turn back toward her. _

_Her eyes watched him, as a smile appeared on her face, "See you soon…" she whispered before he leaned down to kiss her lips. _

"_Hai, see you soon…" He watched as her eyes slowly closed and she fell back to sleep before closing the door quietly behind him…_

_-_

Sakura was currently sitting on the couch reading over yet another one of Tsunade's reports. It had been two weeks and she wondered how Kakashi's mission was going. She knew that it would always be like this, him going on separate missions without her, but it didn't mean that it made it any easier.

She had this uneasy feeling in the back of her mind. It had started when she felt as though someone was watching her, but she hadn't given it much thought what with the increased number of injured patients. Her chakra was pretty low at the moment and she was trying to fight sleep, she was almost done with this report, then she could get up early and write up her review of the material.

-

Kakashi felt as though he would never arrive in Konoha, he was still thirty minutes at best and if anything that man had said were true then he couldn't allow himself to think beyond this moment.

'…_Don't go to sleep Sakura…'_

-

_Earlier that day their team had been ambushed, Kakashi had used his sharingan to escape the blast of rock but unfortunately his teammates had not been so lucky. After taking out the rest of the missing-nins his eyes fell on the bastard that would become his last victim for the evening._

_The man was currently laughing as he stood before the great Copy-Nin, "I've heard a lot about you Hatake Kakashi…" he began, as Kakashi's eyes gave no insight to his current thoughts, "I know that you are a renowned elite jounin from the leaf village and that you have copied over a thousand jutsus…but I know more than that about you…I know that you happen to have an interest in flowers…" his lips curled into a devilish grin, as he watched Kakashi's eyebrow raise, "…Particularly Sakura's to be precise…"_

-

Sakura couldn't help but try to stifle the yawn that was escaping her lips. Just a few more pages now and another report would bite the dust then she could go to sleep. Of course, the warm bed was more inviting then the remaining ten pages of the extensive report in her hands. She sighed and decided that her hard work would prevail as she continued once again with her reading.

-

"…_I've been watching your little Sakura for my boss for the past two weeks…I only came back here yesterday because my boss decided to pay her a visit on his own…" he explained, licking his lips, "She's really something…I mean that pink hair of hers, her face, those jade eyes, and that body…I had a good time with her—_

_His voice was stopped as he felt his entire body be slammed into a nearby tree, his neck being held in the right hand of the famous Copy-Nin. Kakashi could hear his laugh as he spit out a mouthful of blood onto the ground in front of him. _

"…_I only observed her unfortunately, I did manage to pose as a janitor at the hospital and lock her inside of a storage closet with me. I would have taken her right there," he coughed feeling the hand on his neck tighten, "…b-but…when I told her that the door had locked…she smiled and not a moment later…she handed me the door knob…and excused herself before going back to work…strong and beautiful…" he chuckled, not seeming to realize that he was now dangling between life and death. _

"_Who hired you?" asked Kakashi his voice far past anger as he held the man's life in his hand._

_The man smirked before coughing up another mouthful of blood, "…Katsuhiko…Touya…" he mumbled, watching Kakashi's eyes widen his own eyes shifted as they stared at him, "you know of him don't you?"_

_Kakashi stood there as he listened to the pathetic man continue, "…he's an S-Rank criminal known for fixation with young women. He's known for luring the men away on missions, such as the one you're now on," he grinned, "but what he does to those young women is truly an act of brutality…he watches them for weeks and memorizes everything about them…then when the men in their lives are out serving their villages he waits until they fall asleep…then he'll appear before them while they sleep and his massive hands wrap around their necks strangling them…"_

_Kakashi's face remained unchanged, his eyes fixated on the man in his grasp, "…but no he doesn't take their lives then…he only makes the process go longer as he has his way with them…" continued the bastard before him, "…I feel bad for Sakura…" he grunted as his head was once more smashed into the bark of the tree, "…there won't be anything left of your kunoichi but her dead and beaten body when you find her…" he laughed and looked at the position of the moon, "…When she sleeps tonight…he's going to take her…" _

_The last thing that rang out through the woods that night was the man's laughter which was cut short by the fierce sound of bones breaking._

-

"Finally!" exclaimed Sakura as she closed the report in her lap and set it down on the coffee table before standing up and stretching.

She yawned before turning off the light in the living room and rounding the corner to go into the bathroom and brush her teeth. She peeked out from the bathroom in between brushing and arched an eyebrow, feeling that it must have been her imagination she continued and shut off the running water.

Sakura turned off the bathroom light and headed down the hallway; she stopped when she reached the door to her bedroom and glanced down the hall toward the front door. She decided to check the door once more to make sure that she had locked it.

"You're just tired Sakura," she told herself after having confirmed that the door was in deed locked. She entered her room and silently shut the door behind her before lying on her back on the bed.

-

Kakashi was almost there, he could see the lights from the city at the forest's edge. If at all possible he managed to pick up his pace as the thought of a pink haired cherry blossom entered his mind…

-

Sakura had turned off the light not long ago and was currently allowing herself to succumb to sleep when the door to her room quietly opened. She was mumbling incoherent thoughts that had entered her mind when a shadow moved over her form lying on the bed.

Her eyes opened suddenly as she felt a massive hand on her neck, the light from the lamp in the hallway pouring into the room to reveal a large man towering over her, his arms were stronger than she could have imagined, his eyes were cold and brown void of any emotion and his lips were curled into a twisted grin as he continued to squeeze her neck within his hand, her gasping causing the grin to grow.

-

Kakashi saw her apartment come into view and bounded toward the door; he grabbed the doorknob but found that it turned in his hand. His heart stopped as the door easily pushed open. He stepped inside of her apartment and found the kitchen to be in order, when the sound of her coughing followed by a large impact that had appeared to hit the back wall of her room cut through the silence.

-

"I like you, you little bitch…I don't think I will kill you just yet…" Katsuhiko Touya commented, wiping away the blood that was dripping down the side of his mouth. He walked back toward her struggling form as she coughed and tried to get up.

Before she knew what had happened he had once again grabbed hold of her neck, his other hand was raised as he smacked the side of her face repeatedly, pushing her further into the mattress beneath her.

-

Kakashi had turned the corner and was finally to the hallway when he saw the shadow of a man raising and lowering his hand and the sound of muffled cries coming from the room. He couldn't bring himself to say anything as he raced past the nightstand holding the lamp and toward her bedroom at the end of the hallway.

-

Sakura could feel her senses failing as she flailed helpless under the massive man, the tears in her eyes were clouding her vision all that she could see was the twisted grin that had been plastered on his face to indicate that he was enjoying himself immensely. Her hand fell on something behind her pillow and with the last conscious thought in her mind, as his hand was raised she reached up toward him.

-

Kakashi entered the room his sharingan revealed, but what stood before him caused both of his eyes to widen. There was the massive form of Katsuhiko Touya stumbling backwards with a kunai driven into his heart, his hand releasing her neck as the mattress once more rose up underneath her own weight.

Kakashi stood there momentarily as he watched him fall to the floor, "…You….you bitch…" he muttered as blood began to form in the sides of his mouth, his eyes glazing over before his body slumped.

Kakashi's attention then went back to his kunoichi, he turned on the lamp beside her bed and his eyes widened at the sight before him. Sakura was lying on her back, her pink tank top and pink pajama bottoms in tact, her neck had the imprint of his hand molded into her skin and her face was bruised, her eyes were closed and as he reached out to take hold of her, he noticed that she wasn't moving.

He felt his heart drop as he tenderly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up, sitting on the side of her bed he felt her limp form in his arms.

"…Sakura…" he whispered, his voice bitter sounding from having lost so many of his loved ones, he had once even told her that all of his loved ones were dead, "…Sakura-chan…" his affectionate name for her leaving his lips. "Ne Sakura…wake up…" her forehead was resting on his shoulder as his arms tightened around her, her arms lifeless at her sides.

His mind went back to the first day that he had met them; Naruto had placed an eraser above the door so that when he walked into the classroom he would (and did mind you) fall for the prank and have it fall onto his head. He remembered the pink haired genin apologizing for Naruto's stupidity and how the three watched him as he said, "…My first thoughts on all of you…" they waited hopefully, smiles on their faces, "…I hate you." Yes, the looks on their faces had been priceless. She and her team were the only ones that he had ever passed; their pink haired cherry blossom was the one who kept the bickering boys in line and she was the one who experienced heartache when her team disbanded. She had grown stronger and into a beautiful woman in the ten years that he had known her, and even now as she lay lifeless in his arms she was still beautiful.

He thought back to all of the times that she had needed his protection as a genin, he had always protected her and her team from whatever threats had appeared. However, now when she had needed him the most he hadn't reached her in time. Her skills had grown ten fold and he was truly proud of her, even now, she had killed her attacker, she wouldn't allow herself to be considered weak.

Kakashi found his hand on her head ruffling her pink locks, he had always done this in the ten years that he had known her. She was his kunoichi after all, the heart of their team. He couldn't bring himself to leave her just yet and notify ANBU of the events that had transposed.

Sakura's eyes slowly opened as felt herself being lowered back onto her bed, she recognized the chakra around her and quickly wrapped her arms around its source. Kakashi's eyes widened as he felt her arms tighten around his back; he lowered her back onto the bed one hand behind her head, the other on her back as he looked down upon her.

Sakura looked up into his eyes, tears running down her cheeks, "…I'm so happy to see you…" she whispered hoarsely her throat hurt so badly.

She felt his mask lips on her forehead as he closed both of his eyes, "…Sakura…" he breathed her name, as she reached up with one hand to remove the mask from his face. She placed her hand on the side of his face and watched as he leaned his head toward the palm of her hand.

"Sakura…" he whispered her name once more before gently kissing her tender neck as if trying to erase the pain for her, while her chakra returned to her body, "It's alright…because…Aishiteru…"

-

_That's it! You made it, congrats! If you liked any of these snippets more than others let me know and I could always take the time to develop a single one shot devoted to your favorites. _


	2. And We Continue

Author's Note: Hello, due to such a wonderful response I decided that I would give writing for this pairing another shot. So yeah, I lied when I said complete…a timeline just sounded like such a good idea! Please if you read, do review it gives me the desire to continue.

-

_Sakura had her elbows propped up on her office desk, her chin was resting in the palms of her hands and her eyes were currently closed after having decided to take a break from the many surgeries that had needed her expertise. She had told Shizune to give her a couple hours and then she would come back and be of aid. Shizune had said not to worry, because she had more pressing matters to deal with at that time, Tsunade was out of sake…yes, pressing in deed…_

_She sighed as she heard Tsunade's voice bellowing behind the closed door for more sake or she can't work and Shizune pleading with her that they would find her some right away. _

_Sakura blinked as she felt a hand rest on top of her pink tresses, a smile quickly appeared on her face, "Ohayo…" she whispered, allowing her eyes to close once more._

"_Yo," replied Kakashi as he stood behind her, "wouldn't you rather sleep on your couch?" _

"_The desk is fine, I have to return in a few hours anyways," she informed with a sigh._

"_Rough morning?" he asked, ruffling her hair once more before sitting on the side of her desk._

_She slowly opened her eyes, to find him next to her, "You don't know the half of it. There was some sort of accident and I've been in surgery all morning…except for when I first got here, I had the pleasure of healing some drunk who grabbed my ass…" she explained before glancing up at the clock, "he should be waking up from his coma any time now."_

_Kakashi sweatdropped, "Remind me never to touch your ass," he replied flatly, as he thought of the poor bastard who had dared to do so leaving with more injuries than he had come in with._

_Sakura arched an eyebrow in his direction, "I didn't say you couldn't…"_

_Kakashi shot a happy eye crease in her direction, as she unexpectedly yawned in response. Sakura opened her eyes to find his hand on her cheek as she looked to him with a smile._

"_Don't you want to take a nap on the couch Sakura? You look like you're half asleep," he commented, while gently rubbing her cheek with the side of his thumb. _

"_Mou, maybe a small nap would do me some good," she reasoned before pushing her chair out from her desk and standing up, "but before that," she walked around to the front of the desk and stopped in front of him before slowly wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him. _

_Kakashi smiled from underneath his mask before reaching his arms up and placing them on her back, while he rested his chin on her shoulder. Sakura gently rubbed the back of his head, her fingers lightly playing with his hair as she felt her eyes slowly closing…_

_He smiled as his fingers played with her pink locks; he turned another page of his book that was currently occupying his other hand— his kunoichi lying comfortably next to him, her head resting on a pillow in his lap having fallen asleep. _

_-_

_Team Kakashi were currently enjoying their break from a morning of rigorous training. As usual, Kakashi was currently sitting under a tree with his questionable choice of literature in his hand; next to him was Sakura who was reading something a little more educational—yet another report that Tsunade should be reading instead of herself—and next to her was Naruto who was currently slurping the noodles of his ramen, and the antisocial Sai who had decided that sitting under a different tree would be far more enjoyable after having the tendency to find his team a bit odd at times (looking up to find Naruto choking on ramen, Sakura smacking Naruto on the back to encourage him to 'cough it up', never taking her eyes off of the report on her lap, and their fearless leader Kakashi merely turn another page in his book with a perverse expression making its way to his one visible eye as a ramen noodle shot out of Naruto's mouth and landed a few feet away)._

_And their strange tendencies were only going to increase tenfold as Sai noticed a man clad in green spandex, with a black bowl hair cut, and spouting about youthfulness in the spring approach their team; he sweatdropped, as the brush he had been painting with ran off of the paper and onto his pant leg. _

"_Ah Kakashi, my youthful rival," exclaimed Gai as he stood before Kakashi and the two members of his team sitting under their designated tree._

_Kakashi merely flipped the page in his book, as Naruto slurped up the rest of his ramen and Sakura arched an eyebrow at the material before her. Gai merely laughed which caused all three to sweatdrop._

"_Kakashi, my greatest rival, allow me to even the score between you and I," remarked Gai with a classic pose as he pointed his index finger in Kakashi's direction and shot him a smile. _

…_10 Minutes Later…_

"_Gai Sensei is the greatest," cried Lee as he sat under the tree with Naruto and looked on with complete admiration for his sensei._

"_Yeah right Fuzzy Brows…Kakashi is going to win this one no problem…" informed Naruto as he rummaged through Sakura's pack in hopes of finding some ramen, a candy bar, anything to ward off starvation as the challenge under went. _

_Sai looked at the two idiots sitting under the tree arguing about who was going to be the victor of this match, before looking back toward the other two members of his team to find Kakashi and Gai doing one handed push ups._

_Sakura sighed and turned the page in her report, currently sitting cross legged on Kakashi's back. She looked up to find Tenten—sitting on Gai's back with the same bored expression on her face—while sharpening a kunai from her weapon pack. _

"_Ha! Getting tired yet Kakashi," asked Gai, looking over at his greatest rival._

"_Not yet," stated Kakashi just as carefree as could be, as if doing one handed push ups with a girl on your back was a perfectly normal thing to be doing in the middle of the day._

_Sai looked on in sheer amazement—or was it fear, one couldn't really tell—gaping at the scene in front of him; it was official, these people were not just not right…_

"_Kakashi is way better than Gai," informed Naruto with a Cheshire cat grin on his face after hitting the jack pot and finding a stash of candy bars in Sakura's pack. _

"_Take that back," yelled Lee, making a fist with his hand and showing the burning fires of passion in his eyes, "there is no man greater than Gai Sensei!" _

"_Yeah, mpm-crunch-mphm-chew-mph-swallow-right!" _

_Sakura arched an eyebrow in Naruto's direction, then came the twitch, "Naruto, are you eating MY candy?!"_

_Naruto shook his head and turned his back to the female of their group, in an effort to shove the remaining evidence into his mouth, "You are, aren't you?!" _

"_N-mhpmh-no-mmphm-Sakura-mhmph-Chan," struggled Naruto in between chewing, only to cry out "Itaiiiiiiii!" as her report made contact with his head. _

"_Fear not my beloved blossom for I shall replace it for you when you date me," cried Lee, as he winked sending a squishy pink heart flying in her direction._

_Sakura sweatdropped and tapped Kakashi's shoulder, "Down please…" and he was happy to oblige as he pushed his arm down to avoid the heart that went sailing past them and stuck to the nearest tree. _

_Both sweatdropped as they watched the nasty little memento slide down the tree, "That could have been me…" muttered Sakura in a dead pan tone of voice. _

"_But it wasn't," reminded Kakashi, continuing on with the challenge, before sweatdropping once more but this time at Gai._

"_That's right Lee! Be young and youthful; set a good example for the beautiful cherry blossom! Once your sensei beats his greatest rival, you shall have no problem wooing her off her feet!"_

"_Right Gai Sensei," yelled Lee with a salute toward his mentor. _

_Tenten merely sighed and shook her head before moving on to sharpening yet another useful weapon as she sat on Gai's back, finding the two males to be rather tiring._

"_Give me a break, Kakashi is obviously going to win this match," Sakura chimed in, shrugging her shoulders for effect, "it's a given." _

_Lee's mouth dropped and he looked like a fish opening and closing its mouth, as Naruto sat up, rubbing the back of his head, "Ha! Told you!" _

"_Sakura…how…how could you?" cried Lee with floods pouring down his cheeks, "Gai sensei is the greatest man in the world!"_

_Sakura sweatdropped, "Yeah, whatever; Naruto and I are still standing behind Kakashi all the way. Besides, isn't the score in Kakashi's favor? Like he's going to let Gai even up the score."_

_Kakashi merely gave a happy eye crease in reply, yes there were some moments when he really did love his team, they were so good to him…_

"_Kakashi, if you lose we're going to burn Icha Icha," stated Naruto with a grin as he waved the latest novel around in his hand. _

…_But then of course those moments never lasted long…_

_-_

_It was Sunday morning; therefore, it was Sakura's favorite day of them all for it was her day off. She let out a sigh as the sun somehow managed to find its way into her room, she slowly opened an eye to find Kakashi sound asleep by her side and found a smile appear on her face. _

_Kakashi was oblivious to the fact that she was currently watching him sleep. She noted, as she always did, that when he slept his hair never ceased to change, and she always marveled at how innocent looking his face appeared to be. _

_She sighed, feeling that she might as well get up and let him sleep in. Her plans were foiled though for when she went to leave his side she felt an arm tighten around her waist and pull her right back. _

_Certainly this shouldn't pose as a problem for a woman who could break rock with her mere fist, right? Yes, well…after five minutes of almost making it to the edge of the bed, three minutes of holding on for dear life to the side of the bed, and two minutes of struggling to remove his arm, Sakura gave up—it was really his leg that sealed the deal as he hugged her to him like a five year old would a teddy bear. Yes, it was very kawaii…at first…that is until he started snoring…_

"…_Well…it's still not that bad…" she admitted, noticing that his chin had fallen onto her shoulder, she decided to relax and allow herself to fall back asleep in his embrace, "It could always be worse…" _

_A few minutes later it got worse, when she opened an eye to find…_

"_Dammit Kakashi, you're drooling!" _

_-_

_The only inn that had been available was rather run down and Naruto couldn't help but twitch at the way that every dirty bum in the establishment looked at Sakura._

"_Kakashi, there's no way that Sakura-chan can stay by herself in a room," whined Naruto, obviously just looking out for his pink haired best friend._

_Sai gave out a sigh, "For once I agree with Dickless, I mean, look at these guys they probably know what room she's already staying in."_

_Sakura smirked, "Sai, I didn't know you cared about the ugly old hag," she informed with her arms crossed over her chest. _

"_Don't worry, I know the perfect one to stay with Sakura…" began Kakashi, who sweatdropped as Naruto shook his finger in his direction and accused him of being a pervert, wanting to do Icha Icha things to Sakura in her sleep, which even Sakura had a hard time not laughing at. _

"…_I didn't mean me…" continued Kakashi with a sigh, as he proceeded to show Naruto who exactly he meant, a cloud of smoke appearing at his feet._

"_The dog?" asked Naruto, with a sigh as he pointed his finger toward Pakkun who now sat at Kakashi's feet._

"_Of course, Pakkun makes a reasonable substitute since none of us can watch over Sakura for the evening," informed Kakashi as he sweatdropped, finding an empty spot at his feet._

_All three males looked toward the kunoichi of their group and the said dog. Sakura leaned down and picked up Pakkun who had been eagerly waiting at her feet._

"_Ne Pakkun, long time no see," greeted Sakura as she held him in her arms and gave him a smile._

"_Hai, tell me about it. Does this mean we can go for a late night dessert run like always?"asked Pakkun, grinning with excitement._

_Kakashi sweatdropped, Sai excused himself with a silent wave, and Naruto's mouth nearly dropped open. _

"_Dessert run? Sakura-chan…and…the dog?!" he cried out to anyone who would listen._

_Sakura and Pakkun looked up at Naruto and then sweatdropping, went back to their current discussion._

"_Ne Pakkun, when we were out earlier guess what I found?" teased Sakura, as she held him out in front of her and grinned._

"_Oh is it something good? You have really good taste when it comes to sweets," he commented, a grin on his face once more. _

_Kakashi and Naruto watched their odd exchange as the two stood in front of them in the hallway of the inn. _

"_Hai, it's really good. I found a crepe shop!" _

"_Oh, we haven't had crepes in forever!"_

"_I know!" _

"…_I thought that Pakkun was putting on a little weight," simply stated Kakashi, who really couldn't help but smile since Pakkun loved Sakura as much as he did. _

"_This is so unfair, Sakura-chan takes a dog out for desserts…but she won't take me?" Naruto cried, looking up at Kakashi for sympathy. _

"…_Well, she doesn't take me either…if it makes you feel any better…" he replied, with a shrug, as both watched their kunoichi walk down the hall, listening to their little comments about what kind of crepes they should get and if they should bring any back for Naruto who is probably still standing there like a dumb ass with his mouth hanging open…which Kakashi did happen to take notice that he was still doing just that, even after he had turned to walk toward his own room and left the blonde standing in the hallway. _

_He turned to smile at the retreating forms of his favorite kunoichi and his favorite furry companion before entering his room. She never ceased to amaze him, honestly, taking Pakkun for dessert runs while on missions…too kawaii…no wonder he loved her. Now if she remembered to bring him back a crepe, then he would remember to love her even more. _

_-_

"_Sakura," began Tsunade, as she sat behind her desk after calling Team Kakashi before her._

"_Hai, Tsunade-Shishou?" asked Sakura, her hands behind her back as she stood between Kakashi and Naruto, while Sai stood on the other side of Naruto. _

"_We are in short supply of medic-nins as you currently are aware of," replied Tsunade, drumming her fingers lightly on the top of her desk, obviously wishing for a cup of sake to magically appear, "therefore, I need you to accompany a team for an A-Rank mission."_

"_Understood," informed Sakura, she could practically hear the wheels turning in Naruto's head and sweatdropped right before knowing that he was going to interrupt._

"_Wait a minute, if Sakura-chan's going on an A-Rank mission, then who's going to be the fourth member for our mission? Plus, how can you break up our team on such short notice?!" cried—more like whined—Naruto as he looked from Sakura to Tsunade._

_Tsunade sighed; she really did wish that she could will a cup of sake—no better yet, a bottle—to appear on her desk, "I haven't forgotten about your team Naruto, so quit yelling!" _

_All four sweatdropped and prayed that Naruto wouldn't open his mouth again; a pissed off Tsunade was not something that they wanted to deal with so early in the morning. _

_Tsunade rubbed her temples, "Now then, Sakura's my best student and her skills are necessary for this mission which may turn out to be an S-Rank before it's finished. (Insert Naruto opening mouth only to have Sai shove a sock in it, while Kakashi and Sakura sweatdrop) " As for Team Kakashi you will be assigned a medic-nin to take Sakura's place for the time being…meet back in my office at sundown to receive your mission scrolls and pick up the forth member of your team. Sakura, please meet here as well for your team will be here ready for departure. You are dismissed."_

"_Hai, Hokage-sama," came three replies, and a muffled reply from Naruto before bowing like good little children._

…_At Sundown…_

"_Ne Sakura-chan, who do you think will be assigned to be our medic-nin?" questioned Naruto as he walked along side of her._

_Both were carrying their packs on their backs and walking behind Kakashi—who was reading Icha Icha—and Sai who was just walking (how boring). _

"_Hmm…I don't know Naruto…whoever it is, I'm sure that they will take good care of you," replied Sakura, trying to think of who might be on her own team. _

_After entering Tsunade's office, Sakura couldn't help but smirk when she saw a familiar blonde standing before her. _

"_Hey Forehead, I didn't know that I would be taking your place," commented Ino, a smirk appearing on her face._

"_Hey Pig, looks like my skills are just far more advanced than your own, therefore, you need to take care of my team while I'm away," commented Sakura, with a shrug of her shoulders._

_As the scrolls were being passed out Kakashi and Naruto were both sweatdropping at the idea of being stuck with Ino for the next two weeks, while they watched her hang all over Sai. _

_The door opened to reveal Tsunade, accompanied by Sakura's other two team members, Genma and Neji. _

"_Well, well, well, looks like my lucky day," stated Genma as he smiled at Sakura who was standing before him, holding a blue mission scroll the same as his own. _

_Sakura returned the smile, "Ne Genma, long time no see," she replied before walking over to meet him in the corner of the room. She looked over to find Neji with a bored look upon his face, "Hello Neji."_

"_Sakura," he stated rather flatly, his arms crossed over his chest. _

_Both Genma and Sakura sweatdropped, "Talkative as ever," they both mumbled at the same time and smirked. _

_Naruto was looking at the odd exchange in front of him and then back to Ino hanging off of Sai, "Kakashi this is SO wrong!" _

_Kakashi sweatdropped, watching Genma wrap his arm around Sakura's waist and mention that they could have a lot of fun on a three week mission together, and then looked back toward Ino who looked like a twelve year old version of Sakura pining over Sasuke, "…Hai…I know…" he informed in a dead pan voice, fearing that not even Icha Icha could save him._

…_Three weeks later…_

_Team Kakashi's mission had run over by a week, much to the dismay of three out of four of its members. Naruto was dragging his tired body toward the gates of Konoha, Kakashi could barely hold Icha Icha up, and his shoulders were slouching, and Sai…he was not smiling, he couldn't bring himself to smile or think of anything past removing the growth—and quite possibly his ears if all else failed—from his arm that went by the name of Ino who was busy rambling on and on…_

_Naruto looked up to find the gates coming into view, "…Thank Kami…" he mumbled and then felt a little hope as something pink appeared in his line of vision, "Sakura-chan?" he asked, with so much hope in his voice._

_Even Kakashi looked up, for it was true, his kunoichi was walking beside her group returning from the opposite direction and heading toward them. _

"_Ne Genma, are you sure your shoulder is alright? I could take a minute to heal you before we enter Konoha," came her voice which was music to her tired team's ears._

"_Oh baby, you know I love your magic fingers," replied Genma with a grin, only to be follwed by a "Hn," from one Huuga. _

_All three suddenly stopped as they looked at the pitiful team coming into view…_

"_Sakura-chan!" cried Naruto, hobbling toward her, with an arm in a sling, and bandages wrapped loosely around his head. _

_Sakura blinked, "Naruto?" she questioned as the said boy wrapped his right arm around her and practically cried out of sheer joy. _

_Genma sweatdropped as he looked toward Kakashi who was dragging slowly behind Naruto, he could see the limp in his leg and could tell that his buddy had used the sharingan recently, "…So…the mission went well?"_

_Kakashi remained silent, feeling that Naruto would do the talking while he focused on not keeling over, while Sai and Ino brought up the rear._

"_Sakura-chan, don't ever leave us again," cried Naruto, as he felt her pat his back in a reassuring manner, "it was horrible!"_

"_Naruto…what happened to you?" asked Sakura as she looked at his arm and the poorly tied bandages around his head, "…It looks like you tried to heal yourself you baka, why didn't you let Ino do it for you?"_

_Naruto looked up with his big blue eyes so full of happiness to have her before him, she almost fell victim to his expression, "I did!" _

_Sakura blinked and then turned to Ino, who was too busy rambling on and on while clinging to Sai, "Hey Pig?!" _

_Ino looked up and waved, "Oh hey Forehead, glad to see you're back and alive for that matter," she grinned, "didn't think you had it in you."_

_Sakura's eye twitched, "What the hell did you do to Naruto's arm?" She was currently examining his arm with a look of disbelief on her face, "It looks like you read the instruction manual upside down!" she concluded with a growl. _

"_Whatever," replied Ino, "He's alive isn't he?"_

_Sakura's eye was still twitching as she gently removed Naruto's arm from the sling and rubbed her hand over his arm applying her chakra, "Don't worry Naruto…it should feel better in just a few minutes…" She looked over to the remaining two members of her team, "What did you do to Kakashi?" she accused. _

"_What?" asked Ino, her hands balling into fists at her sides, "Why do you think that I did anything?!"_

"_Look at him, he can barely stand…" she stated through grit teeth trying not to pounce on the blonde in front of her, "Didn't you give him any chakra?"_

"_He said that he didn't need any," informed Ino, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away._

"_That's probably because he watched you 'heal' Naruto and figured that he was better left dead then trying his luck with you…"_

_Kakashi let out a sigh which told her that she was right on the money and that poor Naruto had been the unfortunate guinea pig. Sakura finished with Naruto and walked over to Kakashi, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as she lowered them both to a sitting position on the ground before turning and placing her hand on his chest and pouring her chakra into his body._

"_Are you starting to feel better now?" she questioned, sitting beside him as both Neji and Genma thanked the Kami's that they had not gotten Ino on their team._

"…_Much…thank you Sakura…" replied Kakashi, feeling his energy slowly returning to his body and trying not to be too obvious when taking in her features, having missed her those three weeks._

"_You're welcome, gomen that I wasn't there with you guys," she apologized, "I had no idea your medic-nin would be so bad."_

"_Hey!" came a cry from the blonde, looking menacingly toward the pink haired kunoichi. _

"_Looks like we were the lucky ones," whispered Genma to Neji who replied with a "Hn. I should say so."_

"_Neither did we," flatly replied Kakashi, as he watched her rub his chest with her right hand over a bruised area and apply chakra._

"_That should help…" she whispered, before reaching up with her free hand and gently pulling the hitai-ate down over his left eye to cover the sharingan. "There…better?"_

"_Hai…" Kakashi let out a sigh of relief, if he had anything to say about it, there was no way that Ino was going to be on his team ever again._

"_So Kakashi," began Genma with a grin, "I can keep Sakura right?" he sweatdropped as he saw the Copy Nin glare and the aura around Naruto change, "…Well…you can think about it…" _

_She turned her attention to Sai, "And Sai…" she trailed off, he looked fine. Sakura blinked when Sai stopped in front of her and Kakashi._

"_I will never call you a hag again," he stated with a tone that was far too serious._

_Sakura's eyes widened, "What the hell did you do to Sai?!" she cried, pointing her index finger toward Ino and shaking with disbelief. _

_-_

_Naruto and Sakura had been separated from Kakashi and Sai after being ambushed by a group of renegade-nins. Their job had been simple, retrieve the daughter of a wealthy client who had promised a large sum of money. The daughter had been retrieved and it was not until the four had been making their way back to Konoha had they been separated. _

_When the kunai and shurikens had first appeared everyone had easily dodged them; however, once the battle progressed Sai and Kakashi had been lead one way and Naruto and Sakura in another. _

_Sakura panted as she looked around toward the darkness that was engulfing the woods; she had lost Naruto not long ago and she could no longer sense his chakra or any of her team members present. She leaned up against a tree and tried to catch her breath, while reaching down to her thigh and starting to heal herself, not having pulled a kunai from it long ago. _

_She knew she was taking a risk by letting her chakra be known, but if she continued to run on her leg without healing it properly it would only work as a hindrance to her later. Sakura took in a deep breath when she was satisfied and decided that finding Naruto was her best shot for regrouping. She had to make sure that he and Kakashi were alright, hell, even Sai had won her over in some respects. _

_She took off into the woods, leaping from branch to branch as quickly as possible and keeping her senses on high alert. She gasped as she heard the familiar sound of shuriken heading her way as she nimbly avoided further injuries and threw off a round of her own into the darkness. _

_Meanwhile…_

_Kakashi and Sai had somehow managed to stay together and were trying to pinpoint the location of their attackers, while at the same time, avoid being hit by the on going assault of shuriken and kunai. _

_Kakashi had revealed his sharingan not long ago, allowing him to tip Sai off on their attackers' locations. Their numbers were dwindling, this they knew, and things were going in their favor until they heard an explosion coming from the other side of the forest._

_Both sweatdropped on cue, "Sakura," commented Kakashi and Sai merely smiled, "I believe so."_

_However, it wasn't until they heard Naruto's voice cry out her name that they knew something was wrong…_

_Everything had been going well, Sakura had her attackers' right where she wanted them and as her chakra enhanced fists altered the terrain and sucked up three at once she felt that she had finished them off. She took a deep breath and slowly regained her composure, but something triggered her senses and when she turned around the last thing she could make out was the figure of a man grinning wildly before spraying her face with some form of liquid._

"_What did you do?!" she cried, stumbling backwards, the figure in front of her started to become distorted before her eyes, she could hear the sound of his laughter yet she could no longer pinpoint his direction._

"_Poor little kunoichi, haven't you ever heard of Euphorbia?" he asked, while advancing the medic-nin before him who was trying to back away unsure of her surroundings. _

"_Euphorbia?" she questioned, her eyes were darting in all directions, as she slowly backed away. Her eyes widened in realization as she recalled her teachings._

"_Ah, so you have…then you know what the effects are then," he informed with a grin, "well then, why don't I make things a lot easier for you, and I'll thank you for killing a good deal of my comrades!" _

_Sakura prepared herself for the worse…sensing his chakra increase before her…_

"_Sakura-chan!" came a voice, a voice that she knew all too well._

"_Naruto?!" she cried, as she stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. She could hear the fight between the two going on before her and Naruto's cries for her to do something. She could feel the presence of two other chakras advancing towards them; she would know them anywhere, her other two team members, and two maybe three more rouge ninja were approaching, no doubt, to aid their struggling member. _

"_Sakura-chan, look out!" cried Naruto, as he fought to hold back the ninja that he had saved her from._

_Kakashi and Sai leapt onto the scene, wondering why their kunoichi was merely sitting on the ground frantically fumbling through the pack on her back, searching for her canteen of water. _

"_Sakura, get up!" commanded Kakashi, taking complete control of the situation at hand, and acting as no other than their leader._

_Sakura's breathing was ragged as her eyes darting in every direction before her, trying to pinpoint where Kakashi's voice had come from; however, the clashing of metal and the sounds of her teammates battling their enemies was clouding her senses. _

_She wanted to cry 'I can't!' but she already knew that with her current condition she was already a hindrance. She slowly made it to her feet and stood quite unsteady. She could make out Sai's voice telling her to move it, and Kakashi's orders for her to assist them before more arrived. _

'_What's wrong with you Sakura?' thought Kakashi as he watched his kunoichi out of the corner of his eye, who was standing on the sideline of the battle with a dazed expression. 'Are you caught in some form of genjutsu? …No…you're a master at releasing…'_

_Their voices were ringing through her mind as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself; Sakura took a deep breath to clear her thoughts and focus her mind on pinpointing her teammates locations._

_The clashing of kunai to her left, she could hear Naruto's heavy breathing, to her right she could hear the sound of fists connecting with the enemy, indicating Kakashi…and a little ways past him she could hear brushing on paper to inform her of Sai's whereabouts…_

_Sakura couldn't stand it anymore their voices were swarming her senses and as she took a deep breath and focused her chakra into her fist she prayed that she was correct, "Naruto, Kakashi, Sai…" she knew they could hear her voice, as she continued in complete seriousness, her eyes still closed, "…don't move!" She slammed her fist into the ground and felt her chakra course through the splitting ground, as she viewed the scene in her mind's eye, allowing her to control the route of destruction. She could hear Kakashi stop, she had missed him…Sai's chakra was unfazed, indicating that he was calm…but Naruto's gasp told her she was too close, and diverted the attack with all of her might as she heard his opponent cry out in pain. _

_Sakura dropped to her knees and panted heavily after hearing Naruto cheer "Alright Sakura-chan!" and the sounds of the battle cease all together. She could hear them approach her and felt Kakashi's hand on her head ruffling her pink locks._

"_Nice job," complimented Sai as he stood to the right of Kakashi with a genuine smile._

"_Sakura-chan that was amazing! I almost wet myself when the ground cracked so close to me!" he exclaimed with a nervous laugh._

"_That's our Sakura," commented Kakashi, his hand still in her hair, "but what took you so long?"_

_The three stood before their kunoichi and then silence fell, as well as, their smiles as they noticed that her head was down and she hadn't spoken a word to them._

_Naruto crouched down before her and smiled, "Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Her silence only caused him to worry more and the fact that she couldn't even raise her head to look up at him; he shot the other two members of his team a questionable glance._

_Kakashi followed suit and crouched in front of Sakura, patting her head like he used to when she was a genin, "Yo Sakura, what's with the silent treatment? I'm not angry with you that you took so long."_

"…_I know…" she whispered, not moving from her current position, she wanted nothing more than to embrace him in front of her teammates and have him tell her that everything would be alright…but she couldn't allow herself to be an even larger hindrance. That fact alone had always made her feel inferior since her genin days. _

"_We should really get going," reminded Sai as he looked around nervously, in case of any more attackers catching them off guard._

_Both Naruto and Kakashi knew what Sai had said to be true, but neither could pull themselves away from their pink haired kunoichi who was currently unknowingly tugging at both of their heart strings._

"_Ne, Sakura-chan…don't worry about back there…I knew you could have taken that guy without my help…" whispered Naruto, "Hell, you took out all of them and saved us a lot of work, right Kakashi?" he looked over to his former sensei with a grin._

"_Hai," replied Kakashi, "your chakra control never ceases to amaze me, and you did it with your eyes closed…which I was a little afraid of, I'll admit…" _

"…_It was the only way…" again she whispered, "…I couldn't focus with all of the noise…"_

_Now Naruto was truly confused, this was worse than the time when he couldn't decide what ramen to order. He nervously placed a hand on her shoulder and heard her light gasp when she unsurely reached her hand toward his own. _

"_Come on Sakura…do you want Naruto and I…" he paused when he heard a light cough come from his right, "…and Sai as well to worry about you?" asked Kakashi, before gently lifting her chin with his hand._

_Sakura let out a long sigh before slowly opening her eyes to confirm what she already knew, "…The ninja that I fought," she began, swallowing the lump in her throat, she tried to consciously steady her eyes, "he threw Euphorbia in my face…"_

_She could tell that the meaning of her words were Greek to her teammates and slowly continued, "Naruto?"_

"_Hai, Sakura-chan?" he replied, happy that she was at least talking._

"_Do something, make a gesture of some sort," she informed, feeling their tension and confusion falling around her._

"_I don't think that we really have time for charades, Sakura," commented Sai as he continued to watch their surroundings, shifting his weight from one side to the other._

"_Hai," replied Kakashi, "Sakura, can't you play charades with Naruto a little later?" he chuckled, before slowly standing up, there were times when even he found Naruto's and Sakura's relationship to be a bit odd._

"_Wait," she pleaded, holding out her hand toward thin air, "please wait…Naruto do something…"_

_Kakashi stood perfectly still and reached out to take her hand, really they didn't have time for this. Naruto merely shrugged and hmmm'd for a moment before grinning and complying by pulling down his hitai-ate over one eye and holding up a book, while the other two males on his team let out sighs. _

"_Ne, Sakura-chan," began Naruto with a laugh, "look familiar?" He knew that she wouldn't be able to resist grinning, but his smile fell when he received no response and for the first time he noticed how unfocused her emerald eyes were. "…Oh…Sakura-chan…" he whispered, letting out a deep sigh as he looked to Kakashi._

_Kakashi blinked with his one visible eye, as his line of thought went back to Sakura's first bit of information, he hesitantly crouched down in front of her and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, "Sakura…"_

_She slowly turned toward him with her unfocused eyes and the sad expression on her face as she tried to smile was truly heartbreaking, "…Hai, Kakashi…" she began, looking straight past him, "Euphorbia is a type of plant where the liquid causes blindness," she stated in a calm manner as if she were informing one of her med students._

"_Oh Kami…" began Kakashi as he quickly helped her to stand, "gomen, I didn't know…" he apologized as he looked down at his kunoichi standing before him._

_She shook her head and smiled, "No reason to apologize, you couldn't possibly have known…I mean, when was there time for you to stop and realize why I was sitting on the ground instead of fighting?"_

"_Is there an antidote?" asked Sai, getting right to the chase; he could hear the baited breaths from the other two males of his team. _

_Sakura slowly nodded her head before letting out a sigh and getting right down to being the fountain of knowledge that she always was, "Hai," she could hear Kakashi and Naruto release their breath and felt Kakashi's hands gently squeeze her shoulders in a reassuring manner, "the first forty eight hour are alright if left unattended but anything after that is risky. Right now the blindness is temporary and if we get back to Konoha within the next day or so, I'm sure that Tsunade-Shishou can treat me," she tilted her head down, her hair falling to hide her face, "…However, if we aren't able to make it, then I suppose worse case scenario is—_

_Naruto's voice cut her off, "No way Sakura-chan! You can't even think of it!" he cried, his hands opening and closing at his sides, trying to not lose it, "I'll never let anything like that happen to you!" _

_Sakura turned toward where she heard his voice and smiled, it didn't matter if she couldn't see him, she knew his face, "…Thank you, Naruto…"_

"_Let's get going before night falls," ordered Kakashi, trying to get them one step closer to Konoha before having to set up camp for the night._

"_Right! We're going to have Sakura-chan back in Konoha as soon as possible, right guys?!" cheered Naruto, punching his fist in the air for effect._

"_Hai," came a quiet reply from Sai, "there's no way we're losing Sakura…that would only leave Ino…" _

_All three males mentally cringed, remembering the last time they were without Sakura, they'd be keeping her 'magic fingers' within their team, thank you very much. _

_Sakura blinked as she felt her arms being wrapped around Kakashi's neck before he picked her up in order to carry her on his back. She gently wrapped her arms a little tighter around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder before closing her eyes as she felt him leap from one tree branch to the next…_

_It was late when their camp had been set up; Naruto put up Sakura's tent for her and then sighed when he found her sitting next to the fire, completely unaware of her surroundings other than their presences. _

"_Ne, Sakura-chan…do you want to sleep in your tent tonight?" he tried to start a conversation with his best friend; deep down he even still loved her._

_She let out a sigh and shook her head, "I'll be fine right here Naruto…It's all the same anyways…plus I'd probably lose track of where the zipper was and end up taking the entire thing down on myself anyways…" she made an attempt at a joke, in order to clear the tension, she could hear the leaves rustling beneath his feet as he stopped in front of her._

"…_Sakura-chan…it's cold out tonight…um…" he paused trying to think of how to continue, before scratching his head nervously, "…you can sleep in my tent…" he watched her eyes widen and then quickly continued, "just so you don't…um…well…get lost ya know? I could help you…and uh…yeah…"_

_Sakura observed how he laughed nervously and couldn't help but smile, "Naruto?"_

_He looked down upon her, "Hai, Sakura-chan?"_

"…_You're a good friend…" she whispered, "but I need to be alone tonight so here is just fine…"_

_Naruto smiled, "I figured as much…" he gently placed his hand on her shoulder and his smile widened when he felt her hand upon his own. "Good night Sakura-chan…"_

"_Good night Naruto…" she replied, slowly removing her hand from his and listening as he made his way back to his own tent followed by the sound of the zipper closing up the tent._

_Sakura could feel the warmth radiating from the fire before her and even though she should be terrified at that very moment, instead, she felt complete comfort knowing that her team would never let her down…she would get back to Konoha in time…_

_She blinked, a forced habit, feeling a blanket drape around her shoulders; no words were needed for she already knew who it was. She could feel him sit down in back of her, his back resting up against the tree and his legs open as he gently pulled her backwards toward him. She slowly leaned back; her back gently met the front of his body as she rested her head against his chest. _

"_You're going to be fine," he whispered into her ear, his warm breath trickling through his mask, as he casually wrapped one arm around her shoulders causing her to lean completely into his embrace. No one would think anything of their position for he had spoiled her since she had been a genin. While Sasuke and Naruto had been forced to rely on their own body heat in a storm, he had always favored their kunoichi and allowed her to lean up against him while he read the latest copy of Icha Icha, for it had been a long time since he had allowed himself to hold anyone, and if he had left her in the care of the Uchiha prodigy she'd have been found frozen by morning, or suffocated by the ramen loving would-be Hokage…so he had always taken great pride in being the one to keep her warm while she slept, and in part she returned the favor by bringing her hands up to hold his arm and share her blanket with him while he kept a watchful eye over their team. _

_She nodded, "I know…" and just as always, she brought her hands up to rest on his arm, "but if…"_

"_Don't say ifs Sakura…" he mumbled, resting his chin on her shoulder as he lazily closed his eye, not wanting to think that far ahead. _

"_Even so…I want you to know that you're off the hook…" she spoke so softly that if his hearing wasn't that of a dog's he would have missed it._

"_Off the hook, how so?" he was far too tired to open his eye, yet his arm unconsciously tightened around her shoulders._

"…_If for some reason we don't make it back…I don't expect you to stay with me…" again her tone was the same, so soft yet so serious. She could only imagine his face; there was no sense to open her eyes as she lay in his embrace. _

"_You think too much Sakura-chan…" he mumbled, "I won't let anything happen to a member of my team…"_

"…_And you don't think enough, do you really want to be stuck with a blind woman?" she had to watch her words in case Sai or Naruto were awake, however, she doubted that even their hearing was that good. _

_Kakashi opened his eye before lifting his chin from her shoulder, he heard her breath hitch as if she were awaiting an answer that she already knew, "Hai," he stated, completely serious._

_Her eyes opened another frequent habit when she was surprised, "Why?"_

"_Because," he informed with a shrug that she could feel, "you're the only kunoichi I've ever had the pleasure of caring for and since you were a little girl you became part of my family…now…go to sleep…" _

_She couldn't bring herself to argue, she knew how hard it was for him to mention bonds of any kind, let alone family, and hearing him voice that she was part of his family and that he was pleased to be with her spoke more than any actions ever would. She nodded and slowly closed her eyes, smiling when she felt his hand turn her face to his side and his masked lips kiss her forehead. _

_The gates of Konoha had come into sight about an hour ago and team Kakashi had soon after dropped Sakura off at the hospital after notifying Tsunade of her condition…the first night wasn't very hopeful after Tsunade informed them that her eyes only had a fifty/fifty shot of recovering from the effects. They would soon know…_

_By the fifth day of treatment, Sakura had been allowed to go home, Shizune made Sakura her top priority—that and she got tired of her bitching about the horrid hospital food, the terrible night gown, and the perverted old man whose wheelchair could be heard squeaking into her hospital room at odd hours—and had decided to let her go home._

_One week since the mission gone wrong, Kakashi stood in her living room doorway and gently knocked on the frame to announce his arrival. _

"_Yo, Sakura," he greeted, it was hard to see her like this, and he wondered if it would always be this way, he also wondered if she had lied to him and Naruto trying to have spared them at the time with the real effects of the plant. _

"_Ohayo," she greeted, keeping her head down low as she heard him approaching, "how was your day?"_

_He smiled and sat down in front of her, "Well, I was late this morning to meet with Tsunade-sama because on my way to the tower I saw an old woman trying to get her cat down from a tree…" he explained while rubbing the back of his head. _

_She sighed and shook her head before looking up, "you always rub the back of your head when you're lying."_

_Kakashi grinned behind his mask, "I guess you know me too well…" his one visible eye widened as he looked to see her smiling face and her eyes locked on his own._

_Sakura's smile widened as she waited for his words to form, "…Sakura…can you…"_

"_Hai!" she exclaimed with an excited nod of her head before wrapping her arms around his neck and nearly knocking him backwards. _

_Kakashi gave a happy eye crease in response before embracing her, "When?"_

"_This morning," she replied, resting her chin on his shoulder as she held him close and moved her fingers casually through the silver mess he called his hair. _

"_And you didn't even bother to tell me? You waited until this evening?" he sounded a little hurt._

"_Well I couldn't Kakashi," she began and heard the unsaid 'Why' forming on the tip of his tongue, "Well because you were helping that old woman who was trying to get her cat down from the tree."_

_Kakashi sweatdropped as Sakura mentally added another tally mark on the 'Why Sakura's smarter than Kakashi' sheet. _

-

Alright that's Part 2 in their timeline! No worries, because if you enjoyed this one Part 3 is in the works…


	3. Poker, Birthdays, And Dates

Author's Note: Took a little longer than expected but here's part three in our pair's time line. I hope that you enjoy and if you want me to continue on please let me know and I'm sure that I can think up a combo of fluff and humor for you.

-

_He was late. The story of his life, however, when it came to being late with the Hokage he could always look forward to an earful (worse than his days with Team 7 I'm afraid). _

_Kakashi stopped outside of Tsunade's office door; he had already taken a detour stopping by Sakura's office only to find it vacant much to his dismay. To say that he had just returned home from a two week mission would have been a lie; he had been home for at least five hours and figured that was ample time before gracing the fifth with his presence._

_A sweatdrop appeared, however, when he read a poorly written sign (the words almost illegible and running downhill toward the edge of the cardboard that it had been written on) hanging from the door knob. By some act of Kami, he was able to decipher its meaning—DO NOT DISTURB._

_Kakashi figured that the fifth must be taking her daily nap, while her paperwork collected drool after she had passed out from a few too many hits with the good old sake bottle. He was about to turn and go when he heard what appeared to be three muffled voices from within; his dog ears tingled when he made out the familiar laughter that always brought a smile to his masked face, his kunoichi._

_Throwing caution to the wind, he quietly turned the knob and opened the door just enough so he could get a better understanding of what could be taking place…_

_There sitting at what appeared to be a poker table was none other than Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade, and Tonton too! Kakashi's one visible eye widened as he took in the scene before him. _

"_Mou…Tsunade-Shishou…" began Sakura, taking another shot of sake, holding a set of cards in her hand, before grinning at her shishou and Shizune as well, "that makes three times in a row," she stated with no remorse, her arms reaching out to collect the chips on the table._

_Tsunade took a big chug from the bottle of sake at her side and groaned, "Sakura…" she began, wiping her mouth with her sleeve, "…I'm afraid that I've taught you too many things…"_

_Shizune sweatdropped as she watched the rest of her chips slide across the table and into Sakura's arms, "…Well…I'm out…" she stated with a sigh, looking between the fifth and her apprentice. _

"_Ne, Tsunade-Shishou…" taunted Sakura with a grin, "what happened to me doing your paper work and you skipping out for the day when you won?"_

_Tsunade slammed her fist onto the table (insert Tonton go flying off the table) before rolling up her sleeve, a serious expression on her face, "I won't lose this time Sakura!"_

_Sakura had her arms latched onto her chips, checking to see if any happened to fall on the floor from Tsunade's outburst, "Mou…Tsunade-Shishou, you'll break the table," she grumbled._

_Kakashi continued to watch on in awe, especially when Sakura cleared the table with a grin plastered on her drunken face._

"_I…" began Sakura, in all her drunken glory as she raised her arm up high and pointed with her index finger toward the sky, "beat you…" she continued, quickly lowering her arm and pointing straight at her mentor, she exclaimed, "Tsunade-Shishou!" _

_And that folks was all she wrote for her face made contact with the table top as she passed out…and now Kakashi knew why his kunoichi did not drink in public…_

_-_

_Sakura sighed before opening the door that would reveal her next patient. She really hated yearly exams; so far she had had the great pleasure of seeing just about every ass in Konoha. Some she didn't mind…while others had just been disturbing…hell, Lee ran out of the room when he realized that she was his assigned nurse. _

_Thankfully she was down to her last patient, who just so happened to be penciled in for 10:00 and the clock in the hallway read 4:20…_

_She sweatdropped, oh Kami wouldn't be so cruel…she slowly pushed open the door to reveal…_

"_Yo, Sakura."_

_She hung her head in defeat before silently closing the door behind her. Yes, Kami was in deed cruel to have given her Hatake Kakashi for a patient; a man who loathed hospitals and anything sterile. _

"…_Kakashi…" she greeted with a dead pan voice as she looked at him sitting on the hospital table, reading the current copy of his distasteful little book series._

_He lowered his book, noting how her shoulders were slumped forward and the look of dread on her features._

"_Rough day?" he questioned, watching her as she picked up his medical chart and noticed the look of horror that she was currently trying to mask._

_Silence._

_Sakura's eye nervously twitched as she read the chart. Hatake Kakashi: Needs To Be Updated For Following Shots. The twitching increased tenfold as she noted that he didn't need just one, but many…_

_Kakashi had decided to go back to reading, it wasn't like she hadn't seen his body before so he figured that whatever the exam consisted of shouldn't be a problem. No need for alarm…how wrong he was…as her shadow loomed dangerously over him from behind, the readied syringe in hand…_

_(Forget Icha Icha Tactics, Move onto Haruno Sakura's Tactics:_

_Shot 1. Stab him from behind, he'll never know! _

_Shot 2. Kakashi, I love you! Hug him until he's blue! _

_Shot 3. Kiss him and tell him how proud of him you are…he doesn't know you still have a syringe in your pocket)._

_3 Shots and 10 Minutes Later… _

"_If you'd just stop moving we'd be done now!" cried Sakura, having lost the good nurse act and now going straight for the kill, both of her hands having been stopped by him as he held onto her wrists._

"_I liked you better when you were trying to seduce me," informed Kakashi, a sweatdrop appearing, holding onto both of her wrists and watching her glare daggers at him as he let out a sigh._

"_One more Kakashi, that's it!" she exclaimed, menacingly, freeing one arm from his grasp and panting heavily._

_5 Minutes Later And A Hole In The Wall…_

_Sakura pulled her fist out from the newly made hole in the wall and slowly turned her head toward her victim (insert Psycho music) syringe in hand. _

_Kakashi's visible eye looked horrified, as he slowly began backing up from the death glare that his kunoichi was sending his way. He held up his hands in front of himself and laughed nervously, "Ne Sakura-chan…why don't we take a moment to analyze the situation…calmly might I add."_

_Sakura rolled up the sleeve of her medic jacket, her eyes locked on target, "Hai, I have and my job is to get this last shot into you so you don't get lock jaw," she stated through grit teeth, her aura deadly, "Although, I'm beginning to think that lock jaw would be the least of your worries…"_

_3 Minutes Later…_

_Sakura stood on her tip toes and gently kissed his masked lips, her right hand resting on his shoulder as she gently rubbed his arm with her left, "Mou…you're the worst…but good news is, I don't think it will cut of the circulation to her heart…" informed Sakura with a smirk, her finger on her chin in thought, "…shouldn't anyways…"_

"…_That's not very reassuring Sakura."_

_Kakashi looked at his limp arm at his side and sighed; damn Hyuuga Neji for teaching Sakura chakra point techniques and not teaching her how to release them! If he died tomorrow, the Hyuuga was so out of his will; wait, had he been too lazy to write a will? Hmmm…well, if he had written one, see one Hyuuga Neji: Swift Kick In The Ass._

_-_

_Sakura walked down the street along side of Kakashi who (you guessed it) was currently engrossed in Icha Icha making their way from the hospital since her shift had ended for the day. _

"_Ne Kakashi," started Sakura, turning her attention to her companion a smile appearing on her face._

"_Hai?" he replied, briefly looking away from Icha Icha to let her know that she had his attention._

"_Do you want to go out to eat with me?" she asked, her hands clasped behind her back as they continued walking._

_Kakashi shot her a happy eye crease, "Hai, that would be nice Sakura-chan."_

_While they were deciding where to eat Sakura couldn't help but notice the Hyuuga heiress peeking out from behind a tree; she followed her gaze which fell on one loud mouthed blonde. _

"_Kakashi," whispered Sakura as she discretely motioned to the two in view._

_Kakashi looked over his book and found what Sakura had noticed, a smirk appearing on his face, "Ah Sakura-chan, you're not thinking of playing match maker are you?"_

"_Me? No no…" she informed, "but we would."_

_Kakashi did not like her way of thinking, especially when he felt her give him a push toward the would be Hokage while she crossed the street to give the timid girl a nudge in the right direction. _

_5 Minutes Later All Together Now!_

_Sakura was currently standing next to Hinata while Kakashi stood along side of Naruto (book in hand, no need to raise their suspicions)._

"_Hinata-chan, how are you?" greeted Naruto with a big grin on his face, never noticing the poor girl in front of him who was currently turning bright red._

"_F-fine…" she began, oh the stuttering is starting, it was going to be a long night._

"_Ne Naruto, I was asking Hinata if she wanted to join me for ramen, but since you're here, and Kakashi too, why don't we make it a double date?" offered Sakura, trying to conceal her grin._

"_Sakura-chan, that sounds like a great idea, but is it really fair to have Hinata-chan be stuck with Kakashi for a date?" questioned Naruto, scratching the back of his head._

_Sakura mentally slapped her forehead, while Kakashi sweatdropped, Kami he really was dense…_

"_Not you and me, you baka!" exclaimed Sakura before knocking Naruto upside the head while Kakashi let out a sigh and Hinata started to fret over the bump that was appearing on his head._

_-_

_It was September 15, a day that Sakura had remembered since she was 12 years old, for it was the day of the infamous Copy-Nin's birth. Today he would be turning 37 and he was currently late for his own birthday get together._

_She sighed; leave it to Kakashi who can't even show up on time for his own birthday gathering. Finally the door opened and Kakashi walked into the living room of his apartment to meet three sets of eyes staring at him with malice._

"…_Yo…" he began, holding up his hand in a lazy fashion, before scratching his chin in thought, "why are you three here?"_

_By three, he meant Naruto (who was sitting on the couch eating ramen, believing that he would starve before they got to cut the cake), Sakura who was sitting along side of Naruto holding a magazine in her hand that must have been at least ten years old (it was that or Icha Icha, tough decision), and Sai who was currently drawing something on his pad in hand._

"_Ne Kakashi, you must be getting old," informed Naruto, slurping up the remaining noodles in his bowl, a Cheshire cat grin appearing on his face, "you can't even remember that today is your own birthday?"_

_Kakashi sweatdropped, there was that 'old' bit that just had to be brought up. He glanced over at his kunoichi who appeared to be unfazed by the entire comment as she arched an eyebrow in his direction._

"_You could have at least tried to be on time for us," informed Sakura, setting down the magazine on the coffee table before her, "I even baked your birthday cake too."_

_Kakashi let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Gomen, gomen you see…"_

"_I ran into a lost dog on the side of the road…" started Naruto with a grin, only to be interrupted by Sakura, "who needed help finding its owner and I couldn't walk away from it until I found the little old lady who owns it."_

_Sai looked up from his drawing with a small smile, noting their grins, and Kakashi's slumped shoulders as he hung his head in defeat; yup they knew him too well._

_So now that the guest of honor had graced them with his presence, their party began as Naruto helped himself to another piece of Sakura's homemade strawberry cake._

"_Sakura-chan, this is SO good!" he managed in between mouthfuls, food flying at the helpless Sai who was just so lucky to have taken the seat across from him._

"_Arigatou, Naruto," replied Sakura, before taking a bite of her own piece and then glancing over at Kakashi._

_His plate was empty and she couldn't help but sweatdrop, how he did it, the world may never know…_

"_This is from me," informed Naruto, holding out a wrapped gift toward his former sensei and trying not to grin._

_Kakashi took the gift and slowly unwrapped it, to reveal…_

"_Icha Icha: Diaries," he read out loud, his jaw dropping as his fingers ran over the lettering of the book, "I haven't even heard of this title…"_

_Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "Yeah, well the perverted old man owed me a favor."_

_Sai held out his present to Kakashi and waited as he watched his team captain open it to reveal a framed drawing of Team Kakashi. He had gotten their faces perfectly, and it was drawn from a photo of the three that had been taken the year before, with all of them sitting under a cherry blossom tree. Naruto sat on the left with a grin, Kakashi in the middle sporting his classic happy eye crease, and a smiling Sai on the right, while Sakura had her arms around Kakashi's neck from behind with a smile of her own. _

_Their team had become more like a small family and Kakashi gave Sai a look that said more than words could possibly. _

_Last but not least, was Sakura who held out an envelope with a red bow; his visible eye widened wondering what she could have gotten him, before taking the envelope from her hand and slowly opening it to reveal…_

"_A reserved ticket to the grand opening of Icha Icha Tactics Movie 2?!" he merely squealed in perverted delight, "They've been sold out for months, and this is…" his visible eye widened in surprise, he had to make sure that he was reading it right, "a front row seat…"_

"_Hai, hai…" informed Sakura, waving her hand like it was no big deal, toward his astonished form. _

"_How did you…" words could not be formed, while visions of Icha Icha danced in his head. _

_Sakura merely winked, "Let's just say that Jiraiya-Sama owed me one for not telling Tsunade-Shishou that he was spying on her in the bath house over the summer._

_-_

_The Hokage in one of her drunken states of mind had come up with a wonderful idea in order to honor Konoha's shinobi: Party By Numbers. The social would be held for all of the leaf village's shinobi regardless of age; however, the fun part came on the night of the party when their dates would be revealed._

_Every ninja in the village had been given a number and had been told that it was mandatory to attend and dress up. _

_Sakura looked down at the lottery ticket with the number 43 that was firmly in her hand. She was currently wearing a red sleeveless oriental styled dress that had gold cherry blossom petals covering it and hugged her form and wore small high heeled open toed red shoes. Her hair was currently pinned up the shorter pieces resting by the sides of her face. _

_She was quietly observing the guests as they began to arrive, noting how most of the men let out irritated sighs and pulled on the collars of their shirts. _

"_Yo."_

_Sakura turned to find her favorite elite jounin dressed up in black pants and a white buttoned long sleeved dress shirt (mask included of course) standing along side of her. _

"_Ohayo," she replied, turning to face him with a smile on her face and her hands clasped behind her back._

"_You wouldn't happen to be number 27 would you?" he questioned with a sound of optimism._

_She shook her head, "Gomen, I'm afraid not. I'm number 43."_

_Kakashi let out a sigh, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped forward as he looked toward the arriving guests and watched as their odd exchange of numbers began. _

"_Nani?!" rang out from across the room, as both turned their attention toward two screeching blondes._

_The pair sweatdropped, watching as Naruto pointed at Ino with a look of sheer horror and Ino wagged her finger in his direction yelling out that this must be some kind of sick joke. _

"…_That's one girl that I don't have to worry about getting, thankfully…" commented Kakashi, standing along side of his kunoichi._

"_Hai," replied Sakura with a sweatdrop, watching as Ino went off ranting and looking for punch and Naruto commented that there had better be ramen at this event or Tsunade-Baa-chan was going to be hearing about it._

_The couples were now growing as people were finding their dates; another voice rang out over the sound of the music that had begun playing. _

"_Ah Tsunade-Sama! Let us show them our youthfulness!" _

_All eyes went toward one man sporting a green suit (spandex had been ruled out, those who failed to comply would pay the consequences) and pointing his finger upward as he looked back toward his selected partner who was currently ordering another shot of sake. _

"_I'll show you youthfulness…Shizune, who thought up this stupid idea?"_

_Shizune, sweatdropping, holding Ton Ton in her arms—what? Ton Ton needs socializing too. "…Uh…that would be you, Tsunade-Sama…"_

_Tsunade muttered something incoherent before slamming her fist on the bar, "More sake!" _

"…_Well that takes care of that worry…" informed Sakura who couldn't help but feel better, yet sorry for her shishou who, by her own rules, would be stuck with Gai for the next three hours._

"_Kakashi," a voice appeared from behind, as both turned to see Genma putting a hand on his friend's shoulder._

"_Genma," greeted Kakashi, raising his right hand toward said man with senbon in check._

"_Look," began Genma, twirling the senbon in his mouth, "you happen to know who has number 43? Because I'm telling you there aren't many women left that I would really want to take home with me if you know what I mean," he stated with a grin as he elbowed Kakashi in the side._

_Kakashi's visible eye unconsciously widened as he looked toward the kunoichi on his right who was currently smirking._

"_Ne Genma," greeted Sakura with a smirk on her face, "I'm number 43," she informed, holding out the lottery ticket for him to view._

_Genma's face lit up as he twirled the senbon once more, "Well, aren't I lucky?" He questioned before patting Kakashi on the shoulder, "You know, three hours is a long time Sakura, we could always go somewhere else, and sneak out the back and all if we get bored."_

_Kakashi was watching the odd little exchange before him, as Genma snaked his arm around Sakura's waist and complimented her on how beautiful she looked and she mentioned that he looked handsome in his own attire. Kakashi was about to say something when a familiar voice rang out and caused him to sweatdrop._

"_Arriving!" _

_Everyone turned their attention toward the noisy brunette who was currently standing in the center of the room wearing a black dress short sleeved, knee length dress and grinning like a mad women, "Who has number 27?!" _

_Sakura grinned at Kakashi, "Ne Kakashi, don't you have number 27?" she asked, innocently._

_Genma grinned before giving him a wink, "Have fun with Anko, Kakashi, hope she doesn't beat your head in if you don't say or do the right things," he wished him luck before leading Sakura toward a corner of the room._

_She turned toward him and waved before giving him a grin, "Have fun Kakashi."_

"_Don't be shy!" rang out Kakashi's date, "Number 27 step right up!"_

_Kakashi glanced over toward Naruto who was currently eating ramen in his dress suit, while Ino sat next to him and shoveled a bowl of ramen into her mouth as well in order to avoid conversation. He couldn't help but think that Naruto had been the lucky one…and that as he glanced over in Tsunade's direction to find her passed out on a table, with Gai oblivious to her drooling as he continued onward about youthfulness in the spring time, that she had the right idea—find the sake as quickly as possible. His one visible eye managed to spot his kunoichi who was currently dancing a little too close to one senbon twirling jounin; yup, the sooner he found that sake the better._

_-_

_They were currently standing at the training grounds sweatdropping at Naruto's retreating form who was heading, where else, for ramen of course and informing all of Konoha how many bowls he would consume today._

"_Naruto and his ramen," muttered Kakashi, before looking over at his kunoichi who was currently standing along side of him._

"_Hai, the day that Naruto doesn't have ramen for breakfast, lunch, or dinner is the day I'm taking him to the hospital to run some tests," commented Sakura, before bending down to pick up her pack and head home._

"_Sakura?"_

"_Hai Kakashi?"_

"_I'd liked like to teach you something, if you don't mind learning from your old sensei that is."_

_Sakura rolled her eyes, "I'd love to learn something new from you," she replied, setting her pack back on the ground._

"_Now don't be too eager, I'm afraid that it's simple ninjutsu today and nothing more," he replied, noticing her reddening face, from embarrassment or anger one can never tell, holding up his hands defensively._

"_You pervert!" she exclaimed, her eye twitching nervously as she watched him hold out his hands in defense and give her a nervous chuckle._

"_Kidding, kidding," he began, sweatdropping, before becoming semi-serious once more, "No, seriously Sakura, I do want to teach you something."_

"_Alright," she replied, with a sigh, "well, go ahead…teach…" she informed rather flatly._

_Kakashi's shoulders slumped forward as he let out a sigh in defeat, "Try not to sound so enthusiastic, I know I'm not as great as Tsunade-Sama…" he muttered, his ego now had been totally deflated._

"_Mou…Kakashi…" began Sakura, taking his right hand in her own and smiling, "you'll always be my favorite sensei; Tsunade-Shishou is just a little different because she's my mentor."_

"_You want to be a busty drunk who passes out at her desk?" he asked in a deadpan voice._

_Sakura let out an exasperated sigh before throwing her hands up in the air, "I give up!" _

_Kakashi grinned and ruffled her pink locks, "Ok, ok…can I teach you something?"_

_Sakura looked up at him and gave him her undivided attention, "I would like that."_

"_Alright, I'm going to show you a summoning technique," he informed, getting right down to business._

"_A summoning technique?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow, she stood along side of him and turned her head to face him._

"_Hai, I'm going to show you how to summon Pakkun," he replied, looking over at her with his own visible eye._

"_Pakkun?" she started, "You want to share your nin dog with me?" _

"_Why not? I already share my heart with you."_

_Sakura looked down with a blush appearing on her face, "…Kakashi…" she whispered._

"_Now hold your hands like this and I'll teach you the seals."_

"_Hai, like this?" _

_Kakashi looked over and shook his head, "No…more like this…"_

"_Ah, ok. Got it," she replied waiting for the next hand seal._

"_Then this…"_

_Sakura copied his hand signal, "Hai…"_

"_And then this one…"_

"_This?" she questioned, looking over at him, while trying to master the sign at the same time._

_Kakashi walked over and stood in front of her, taking her hands in his own he perfected the desired seal. "Like this, alright?"_

"_Hai, so it's this…"_

"_No, it's…" he looked up with his visible eye widening, "Sakura are you laughing?"_

_Sakura shook her head quickly and tried to fake a serious expression, "No sensei," she informed, as she looked back at his hands holding hers, while he sweatdropped, "So it's this one…"_

"_Hai, Sakura," he replied, watching as she went to the next seal, "Good," he continued and then she hit the third seal and he carefully moved her fingers to the right position, "There," he informed._

"_Ok so it's this, this, and this," she replied, performing the three seals that he had taught her._

"_Correct."_

"_Alright, what's next?"_

"_Next is one more seal, which looks like this…"_

"_Right, um…can you do it again?" she asked, trying not to laugh, hand seals were tough especially when your teacher has lightning fast fingers and second long demonstrations. _

"_Hai."_

_Sakura sighed, as she watched him take her hands once more and create the seals, "Like this, Sakura-chan…"_

"_Oh…" she leaned forward…_

_Sakura nearly burst out laughing as she and Kakashi hit heads, "Gomen," she whispered, her upper body shaking from the laughter she was trying to stifle._

"…_Do you laugh when training with Tsunade-Sama?" he questioned, trying to conceal the grin that was making its way to his face._

_Her eyes widened in surprise, "Are you kidding me? If I took time out to laugh I'd have been dead years ago," she informed in a highly serious tone, "My first day of training was don't get hit by chunks of earth as they're being hurled at you and then she'd consider our next lesson."_

_Kakashi sweatdropped, as he watched her take a deep breath and create the seals perfectly, "Very good Sakura, now the last step, you want to say— _

_He blinked when she took hold of his right hand and flipped it over so that his palm was up and outstretched before placing her palm over his own…_

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Sakura exclaimed, raising her hand as a puff of smoke appeared in Kakashi's outstretched hand. _

"_Yo, Kakashi," greeted Pakkun as he looked up, to find Kakashi in awe; he blinked and turned his head to find Sakura standing there._

"_Ohayo Pakkun," greeted Sakura, waving her hand at him and a smile on her face._

"_Yo Sakura, I see that Kakashi taught you the summoning technique. How many tries did it take you?"_

"_This is my first time," she stated in a carefree voice, and sweatdropped, watching the nin dog's jaw drop open, "What?"_

"_It took Kakashi at least five times to summon me when he first started," informed Pakkun, before shooting a grin up toward his owner. _

_Kakashi's shoulders slumped forward and he hung his head in defeat mumbling, "I didn't expect her to get it on the first try…she couldn't even get the hand seals right…how could she possibly…ugh…I'm getting old…" _

_Both Pakkun and Sakura sweatdropped in response…_

_-_

_Sakura fell backwards onto the bed in her hotel room, it felt so good to relax after a long day. The mission had completely taken its toll on her body and she longed for nothing more than to take a hot shower…_

_However, things never go as planned as she heard the adjoining door knob turn and the door open to reveal Kakashi standing in the doorway. _

"_Yo," he gave her his regular greeting as he closed the door behind him and made his way toward the bed._

_Sakura let out a sigh and looked up to find him looking down at her his one visible eye in a happy eye crease._

"_You look happy," she commented, not being able to suppress the smile that made its way to her face._

"_I just have a question for you is all," he replied, still standing over her bed._

"_A question?" she answered, blinking in response, "What question?"_

"_Since Naruto and Sai have already returned to Konoha, do you want to go out with me?"_

_Sakura arched an eyebrow at him, "You mean like a date?"_

"_Hai, if you want to call it one," Kakashi informed, with a shrug of his shoulders, his hands in his pockets as he watched her sit up._

_Sakura sat up with a grin, "You know this will be our first real date."_

_Kakashi sweatdropped hoping that this 'date' wasn't going to bankrupt him…_

_Thank Kami for giving him a woman who is just as cheap as he is!_

_Both were currently occupying a pair of stools outside of a food cart eating udon. The stand owner smiled at the pair in front of the counter before him. _

"_You two make a lovely couple," the old man said with a grin, observing their odd exchange, whose compliment either went unheard or just unnoticed. _

"_This one is too spicy, here you eat it…" informed Sakura holding out the said piece of spicy food in between her chopsticks toward him. _

"_Hai, hai…" Kakashi replied, pulling down his mask when the old man turned around to tidy up the grill. _

_Sakura watched him chew before fishing around in his own bowl and holding out a piece of tempura that had somehow found its way in. He mimicked her actions and held out the piece of tempura in between his chopsticks. Sakura couldn't help but smile as she leaned forward and opened her mouth to take away the dreaded tempura that she knew plagued Kakashi's taste buds. _

"_Arigatou," he stated, watching her as she chewed and swallowed the distasteful little piece that had somehow managed to infiltrate his bowl. _

"_Doo itashimashite," she replied and blushed as she watched him rub his napkin over her mouth and smile back at her with his happy eye crease before returning to his bowl. She looked back toward her own bowl, the blush now fading, knowing that it was times like these why she loved the infamous Copy nin…_

_But she could always find a way of asking herself what exactly it was about him that made her love him so, especially as they now stood outside of an adult bookstore displaying the promo for the latest Icha Icha merchandise and he proceeded to act like a complete and total baka in front of the window. Her eye began to twitch when she overheard a young boy asking his mother what was it that the man found so interesting in the window, and his mother inform her son that he didn't really need to know what was so interesting. Kami knows Sakura still hadn't figured out what was so interesting in all the eleven years that she had known Kakashi…_

_After having led Kakashi by the hand to their next destination, Sakura now opened the small box in her lap to reveal several manju cakes as they both occupied a spot underneath a tree in a secluded park. _

"_Here," she informed holding up one of the decorated small cakes and leaned forward holding it out toward him._

_Kakashi grinned and complied by lowering his mask and taking a bite. Sakura arched an eyebrow and waited for the verdict._

"_Well?" she questioned, not hearing anything positive or negative and hardly ever being able to read his facial expressions. Sakura went to open her mouth once more and get an answer when she felt the delightful dessert enter her mouth, her eyes widened as she chewed._

"_You tell me," replied Kakashi as he watched her bring a finger to her chin in thought before swallowing._

"_Hai, they are good," Sakura began before licking some of the sugar from her lips, "you know, this was really fun…minus you freaking people out by stopping to gawk at Icha Icha on main street…"_

_Kakashi sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "It wasn't that bad…"_

_Sakura's mouth nearly dropped open, "Are you kidding me? Did you hear what one woman told her kid when he asked what you were doing? She said that only dirty old men stand in front of that shop window."_

_Kakashi's sweatdrop grew as his shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Sakura grinned before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. _

"_Should you be kissing a dirty old man in public?" questioned Kakashi still trying to recover from her comment._

"_You tell me," she replied, before leaning forward once more and gently kissing his lips. _

_She grinned when she felt him respond and smiled within the kiss before breaking it, "No, you're right, I really shouldn't be kissing a dirty old man in public, he might get the wrong idea," she informed before leaning back._

_Kakashi let out a defeated sigh before bringing his hands up to cup the sides of her face, "Too late now," he stated with a smirk before covering her lips with his own once more, his smirk growing as he felt her arms wrap around his neck and her kisses upon his lips._

_Kakashi's note to self: Asking Sakura out on a date has its perks._

_-_

Thank you so very much for reading, yes this one is a lot shorter than the other two but I have more ideas if you'd like to see this timeline continue, just say the word!


	4. Hot Springs And Romance

Author's Note—Scratch That—Ramble: (Which Must Be Said): As usual, I am always so amazed at the kind reviews that you wonderful readers give me. You know, when I first started I wasn't even sure if I could portray KakaSaku in a believable manner. I've read a lot of fanfics where these two say or do things that I can never imagine either of them doing, or they are SO out of character you feel like you're reading about two entirely different characters. I know that when writing for this pair the entire idea appears to be OOC but I believe that it's important to keep their behaviors and quirks if you will.

One more thought, I promise! Got to share my thoughts, and you're gonna read this chapter anyways…(winks)… Now maybe I feel old or just older, however, does anyone else feel like this relationship is like 'Thorn Birds?' I swear I've got George Michael's song 'Father Figure' in my head every time I start to write for these two. For those of you who are thinking, WTH is this baka talking about? I advise you to go and research it.

-

_Sakura sighed as she read the lengthy list in front of her that had been compiled by Shizune and Tsunade (apparently in one of her drunken states—the hand writing noticeably different)._

_**Sakura,**_

_**Arigatou once again for taking care of TonTon while Shizune and I are away on business matters. **_

'_Business MY ass…' thought Sakura before continuing…_

_**Here are some things to remember when taking care of TonTon for the next week…**_

_She took a moment to steal a glance at said pig who was currently lying on his (I'm going on a hunch people) back in a comfy little bed in the Hokage's office._

_**TonTon is very sensitive so you must keep him with you at all times.**_

_**TonTon is a very selective eater, he will let you know what he likes.**_

_**TonTon must be held at least 10 times a day to know you love him.**_

_**TonTon is a bit of a lush, so please lock the sake away (information courtesy of Shizune; alcoholism influenced by Tsunade).**_

_**TonTon must be bathed daily.**_

_Sakura took a moment to sweatdrop; TonTon was a sensitive, selective, lush, who she needed to bathe daily. Kami, no wonder she never saw Shizune without TonTon he practically requires a maid. _

_**TonTon will more than likely need emotional support from being separated from Tsunade.**_

_She took a second to glance at said pig who was currently engrossed in eating a rice ball (which might I add, the last time she could recall seeing Tsunade with rice balls was over a month ago) and mentally cringed—selective eater in deed._

_**TonTon requires at least 8 hours of sleep a night or he will be cranky.**_

_**TonTon requires a good bedtime story each night or a lullaby (Note: your voice won't make any difference, he listens to Tsunade's drunken and might I add, slurred, voice all the time).**_

_**TonTon must be walked daily (be careful he's known for taking detours toward things that smell of interest, including the local liquor store).**_

_**TonTon must have at least one massage a day.**_

_This was where Sakura decided to quit reading, her eyes flipped over to the next page; Kami there had to be at least 3 more pages to this list. She took the list and stuffed it into her medic bag before turning toward TonTon._

"_TonTon…" she began, smiling and bending down, her bag on her shoulder as she stood before him. _

"_Bwee?" replied said pig, looking up at her._

"_Would you like to go home with me now? I'm sure that Tsunade-Shishou explained that I'm going to be taking care of you while she and Shizune-sama are away."_

"_Bwee!" _

_Her smile grew as she held out her arms and caught him as he launched himself at her with a happy 'bwee' to boot._

"_Alright, let's go home…"_

_Kakashi let out a sigh; he had entered the Hokage Tower and now stood in front of a closed door that read 'Out Of Office This Week On Business'—looks like he had dodged a bullet, good thing too because he had kind of misplaced his mission report in amongst his reading of Icha Icha. _

_He stuffed his hands in his pockets and left the tower in search of his kunoichi; the mission had been a simple escort that fetched a pretty penny, however, it had taken him over a month to complete. Now he wanted nothing more than to gaze into the emerald eyes of his pink haired lover…too bad he had been spotted by Genma first and directed toward a local bar…_

_Several hours and a handful of drinks later…_

_Kakashi let out a sigh as he looked around seeing that most of the local shops were now closed and that it must be close to ten o'clock. Sakura's apartment was on his walk home, if she were already asleep then he would talk to her tomorrow, but if she wasn't…_

_He now stood in front of the door to her apartment and took out the key that she had given him before turning the knob and quietly opening the door. A light could be seen emitting from down the hallway and he could make out her shadow sitting on the edge of her bed. _

"_Gomen, but I can't understand a word you're saying," she whispered, a sweatdrop appearing, "so one bwee for a song, two for a story."_

"_Bwee bwee!"_

"…_Hmmm…a story huh? Let's see…" she brought a finger to her chin in thought and then decided that Tsunade didn't strike her as the fairy tale sort before continuing, "I'll tell you one of my favorite stories, it's about a girl who was no bigger than my thumb…would you like to hear it?"_

"_Bwee! Bwee!" squealed TonTon as Sakura smiled and covered him up._

"_There once was a woman who wished for nothing more than to have a child, but she had never been able to obtain that wish, so she went to a fairy who told her that her wish could be obtained, and so she was given a barleycorn and instructed that it was a special kind that was different from the ones that farmers planted and chickens ate and that she needed to put it a flower pot and see what would happen…" _

_Kakashi grinned in amusement as he stood in the hallway and watched her shadow change every so often as she tried to act out the parts of the different characters for her captive audience member, who just so happened to be bwee'ing with delight._

_TonTon let out a bwee of disgust as Sakura continued on, "Hai, the ugly old mother toad took Thumbelina and forced her to marry her even uglier son…"_

"_Bwee!" TonTon made a face and wrinkled his snout._

"_Hai, that would be like me marrying Jiraiya-sama," she said with a shudder, that TonTon equally returned (Kakashi cringed in the hallway, now leaning up against the stand and trying not to think of the old pervert and his pink haired lover together), before continuing, "after escaping from the ugly old toad she was taken in by a friendly field mouse, but all was not well there either for the field mouse was a friend of a cranky old mole who decided to seek Thumbelina's hand in marriage too…but right before the wedding she was saved by her friend the swallow and carried off far away…"_

_TonTon let out a happy bwee as she tucked the covers around him once more before finishing her tale, "And then the prince who was the son of the king and queen of all the flowers; he took his golden crown from his head and placed it on top of Thumbelina's own and stated that she was the most beautiful flower that he had ever seen and asked her to be his bride…and they lived happily ever after…the end…"_

_Sakura couldn't help but sweatdrop, she had just told a fairy tale to a pig for Kami's sake…and sober too…what was this world coming to? (What? You wanted her to tell the tale of 'Ninja Red Riding Hood?' Watch out big bad wolf, little red has chakra enhanced fists-sniffs-do I smell a crack fic? Shhh don't tell!)._

"_Good night TonTon…" she whispered before standing and turning off the light. _

_Seriously what was this world coming to? She would be sharing her bed with a pig for the next week or so…and going through whatever was on the 'list' or she would meet the consequences of her actions—one word—Tsunade. _

_Sakura sweatdropped before silently closing the door behind her and walking down the hallway toward her living room; as she entered her hand reached for the light on the wall and before she could register what had happened she felt strong arms wrap around her and a set of lips cover her own. Her eyes widened in shock, the memories of her attacker still clear, however, all fears vanished when she heard him speak her name._

"_Sakura…gomen, I couldn't wait any longer…" he apologized before feeling her arms wrap around his neck and her body meet his own._

"_I'm glad you're here, I missed you," she whispered, pressing her cheek against his own as she hugged him, now standing on her tip toes and running her fingers through his hair._

"_I missed you too, but I see that we'll have to keep our voices down since you have company," he replied and she could tell that he was grinning._

"_Hai, I'm pig sitting," she informed, before kissing his cheek and leaning back onto her heels once more, "I'll get the light…" _

_She turned to leave only to be halted as he took both of her hands and led her backwards, "I don't think we'll need that," he whispered, as she felt her back gently connect with the cushioned couch behind her, resting her head on the pillow against the arm of the couch. _

"_Mou Kakashi…" she stated with a small laugh, both of her hands cupping the sides of his face as his lips found her own. _

"_I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last month, so I figured it was about time I put it to good use," he informed, as his lips met her own once more, leaning over her with his right hand cupping the side of her face and his left in between her shoulder blades, "By the way, I liked your story…"_

"_Mou…telling bed time stories to a pig, I've hit an ultimate low in my life…" she whispered, untying his hitai-ate, and gently rubbing her thumb over his scar, before kissing the closed eye, as she felt his arm tighten around her._

"_I don't know, I thought it was rather kawaii, but you were wrong about one thing when you told TonTon the story."_

"_Oh?" she questioned, as she felt his lips gently brushing up against her own and received a small kiss, "You don't strike me as being an expert at fairy tales," her breath mixing with his own as she spoke._

"_I'm not, however, she was not the most beautiful flower and I should know, because I'm currently holding her in my arms…"_

_Sakura couldn't help but blush as she felt his lips on her own once more and closed her eyes as the kiss deepened…_

_Anyone else hope that TonTon is a sound sleeper?_

_-_

'_This is horrible…' thought Sakura as she stood in the make shift safe house in a town that reminded her of how the Land of the Waves was when she was twelve. The town was extremely poor and the people were suffering after being attacked by enemy nin forces. _

_Tsunade had requested that she be sent there immediately for the town was far too poor to afford proper medical treatment and men, women, and children were dying on the streets now that war plagued the town. _

_Sakura looked down at her side, she could see the crimson beginning to seep through and pulled her medic coat around her to hide the hindrance. There had been no time to heal herself, the town had been hit with another assault and she had lost sight of Kakashi, while Naruto and Sai were keeping watch on the east side of the village; she had been forced to aid the injured, and had taken a blow to save a child before the remainder of Konoha's nin's were able to move the enemy away from the hospital._

_She took in the sights of so many injured men, who had merely tried to protect their families. Her eyes shifted to the sounds of sobbing women who held the hands of their dead lovers, and to the orphaned children who hugged their dolls to them. Her eyes fell on a young boy who couldn't be more than four holding his stuffed bear in his arms, his clothes covered in dirt and his knee bleeding having tripped while running to safety._

_Kakashi walked into the hospital—pulling down his hitai-ate over the sharingan-- as his visible eye took in his surroundings. People were sick and dying, they had been separated from recovering to those who were a lost cause and knew that Sakura must have done everything in her power, however, she was one medic in amongst hundreds and the women were too distraught to really be of any use. He scanned the room for his kunoichi and his eye softened when it fell on her._

"_It's alright to cry…" she whispered, holding the little boy in one arm, his arms wrapped around her neck as she healed the cut on his knee and pushed his hair away from his eyes when she was finished, "What's your name?"_

"…_Chiaki…" he whispered in between sniffles as he played with the collar of her medic coat._

"…_I'm Sakura…" she replied, watching the poor boy in her arms, his eyes averted and finding comfort in playing with her collar. _

"…_Sakura-onee-chan…I lost mommy…" he replied, sniffing and searching her eyes for the answers of where his mother might be._

_Sakura smiled even though it pained her as she balanced him on her hip and smoothed back his dust covered hair, "Let's see if we can find her," she replied, before kissing his forehead when he leaned his head against her shoulder and nodded._

_The pain in her side had officially taken a back seat as she held the boy in her arms and made her rounds, checking up on those who still held a chance for survival, unaware of the fact that Kakashi was currently watching her interact with her patients. _

"_It's the lady doctor," whispered a girl no more than ten as she watched her mother stand up from the bedside of her husband whose life had been saved by Sakura's medical ninjutsu. _

_The woman slowly walked up to Sakura, her eyes brimming with tears as she placed her hands on the sides of her face, "Arigatou, today Kami smiled down upon our village by sending us a tenshi…" she whispered, gently placing a kiss on Sakura's forehead in appreciation. _

_Sakura was at a loss for words as she bowed her head, resting her forehead against the woman's in a mutual understanding._

"_Because of you my husband is going to live and my unborn child will know his father."_

_Kakashi watched on in awe and admiration for his lover, hearing the woman's words and watching how Sakura's efforts had been received._

"_Sakura-onee-chan, I want my mommy," whispered the little boy in her arms, his face in the nape of her neck as she rubbed his back._

"_Hai, I know Chiaki…" replied Sakura, tilting her head to see his face as a hand reached out from one of the beds at her side; she looked down with sympathy at the blind man before her._

"…_Please…is someone there…" his terrified voice whispered, his eyes bandaged and his hands trembling._

"_Hai," she informed, placing her hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She had treated him when he had come in, he had probably been a promising young warrior for the village and now fate had dealt him a brutal blow, "My name is Sakura…"_

"…_Sa-Sakura…" he began, feeling her move closer to his side, "what a beautiful name…I'm Sano. Do you know where I am?"_

"_Hai, you're in the hospital and you're safe; I've treated you and for now I need you to remain in bed and know that you're among friends," she explained and watched as his features seemed to calm with her explanation. _

_Genma walked in through the door aiding a distraught woman who had been another one of the luckier few who had been found alive in the remains of the village. _

"…_My baby…" she whispered, tears running down her face, "Kami will surely hate me for I'm alive and he is not…"_

_Genma let out a heavy sigh as he passed by Kakashi, placing a hand on his shoulder in passing. Kakashi's eye softened, such was war; however, it was hospitals that housed the reminders of its effects. _

_Sakura couldn't help but sigh, it was obvious that Chiaki's mother had perished yet she couldn't bring herself to remove his arms from around her neck or push away the feeling of despair that had washed over her as she glanced at the less fortunate. _

'_I hate war,' she mentally voiced, 'I hate who it hurts the most.'_

_Genma caught sight of Konoha's blossom and couldn't even bring himself to smile after listening to her conversation with the boy in her arms._

"…_Sakura-onee-chan…Mommy's not coming is she?" his timid voice asked._

_Sakura tightened her arm around him and rubbed his head in a comforting manner, "Chiaki…I believe that if your mother could, she would definitely come for you…" she whispered, feeling the boy's arms tighten around her neck and his body wracking with sobs as hot tears ran down her neck._

_Kakashi slowly sat down on the floor, his back against the wall as he closed his eye and tried to drown out the sobs and the smell of death around him. He really didn't understand how, Sakura dealt with this every day whether in Konoha or in villages like this. _

_Genma gently placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, his senbon in the corner of his mouth. She looked over toward him and gave him a small and wary smile._

"_C'mon sweetheart, you need to take care of yourself now," he whispered in her ear and shook his head when he saw her mouth open to protest, "you're hurt right?"_

_Her eyes softened and her fatigue washed over her features before giving into his request. Genma held out his arms, as she nodded in agreement._

"_Chiaki," she whispered in a comforting manner, pushing his bangs away from his forehead and wiping his tears from his cheeks, "This is my very good friend, Genma," she explained, shooting said man a smile, "and he wants to show you something really fun, ne Genma?"_

"_Right you are Sakura; I've got something really great that's going to make you feel so much better," he informed, slowly taking the boy from her arms and smiling at him as he twirled his senbon._

_Sakura leaned in and kissed Chiaki's cheek and rubbing his head softly explained, "Genma will take good care of you, I promise."_

"_Arigatou Sakura-onee-chan," he replied before passing her his dusty old teddy bear, "for you."_

_She looked down at the tattered chocolate covered bear with the frayed red ribbon around its neck; her eyes brimming with tears before blinking them and the thoughts that caused them away as she felt his arms wrap around her neck. In that moment if she ever wanted a child she wished to be blessed with one like him. _

_Genma smiled as Sakura gently pushed Chiaki back into his arms and placed her hands on the sides of his face, "Genma," she whispered, "please find someone to care for him…" _

_Genma nodded as she gently kissed his cheek, and whispered "Arigatou," before passing by them, her fatigue evident in her voice as she searched for a corner of the establishment where she could rest and heal herself, her chakra already low. _

_Sakura spotted a patch of a silver in one of the pockets of the room, a faint smile appearing on her lips as she slowly made her way over toward him. _

_Kakashi opened his eye to find his lover tiredly walking toward him, as he held out both of his hands to help her sit._

"_Sakura-chan…" he whispered, as he watched her take a seat beside of him, resting her back up against the wall and her eyes closing._

"_Kakashi…" she replied, letting out a sigh of relief when her eyes closed._

"_Your hurt," he informed, the smell of her blood invading his senses._

"…_Hai…" she replied, placing her left hand on her side and slowly beginning to pour a little of her chakra into it; she opened her eyes only to watch her chakra dissipate as she let out a small sigh, before leaning up against him, "I don't have enough chakra…"she whispered tiredly, holding the bear in her lap. _

_Kakashi looked down at his kunoichi and gently wrapped his arm around her as she continued, "These poor people…they had no warning and no means of protecting themselves…"_

_He gazed around the room observing children who were clinging to their mother's legs and the bitter looks of some of the women toward those whose loved ones were still among the living, "War is cruel Sakura, it unfortunately doesn't care who its casualties are," he voiced, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she rested her head on his shoulder, her face turned toward him, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around him._

"_Wake me up in half an hour…Kaka…" she whispered in his embrace, the beaten stuffed bear at her side as she closed her eyes._

"_Hai, Sakura-chan…half an hour…" he replied, slowly closing his visible eye once more, trying to put aside his feelings of contentment with her sleeping next to him, while others mourned the loss of their loved ones. Life was in deed cruel…_

_-_

_The mission had been draining and now as Team Kakashi lay on the grass under the starry sky thoughts of sleep were invading their senses…_

_Correction: thoughts of sleep were invading 3 out of 4 members' senses._

"_Oi, Sakura-chan, are you listening to me?" _

_Naruto had been talking nonstop for the last twenty minutes! Every time she thought that he was about to end their one sided conversation, she had been sadly mistaken to find that he had only stopped long enough to take a breath. It was like watching an episode of Peanuts where Charlie Brown's teacher would talk with that muffled voice and after a while you really don't give a damn what's being said. _

"_No," she replied hotly, "I'm not. I stopped after the first ten minutes of listening to you complain about how you're not tired," placing the top of her sleeping bag over her head._

"_I'm not complaining!" whined Naruto, giving her a poke, "Sakura-chan, c'mon it's too early to sleep!"_

"_Quit whining!" she exclaimed angrily, having had about enough of this, why did he have to place his sleeping bag next to hers? "Go talk to Sai or Kakashi!" She sighed in relief as she heard him crawling away toward his next victim._

'…_Finally…' she thought as peace washed over her once more, well, for a moment anyways…_

"_Dickless, stop talking…"_

"_Hey! Don't call me that!"_

"_No. Stop talking. Now."_

"_But—_

"_Not later…now…Sakura has the right idea." _

"_Fine, jeez, don't have to be a grouch about it…" grumbled Naruto as he crawled away from Sai. _

_Sai let out a sigh of relief before closing his eyes, and Sakura was busy welcoming peace once more; however, being the pair of fools that they were, they had forgotten their fearless leader…_

"_Kakashi?" _

"…_Hn?" _

"_Ka-ka-shi?! Oi?! I'm talking to you!"_

_Naruto's voice rang out through all three sets of ears—Sakura covered her head with her pillow, Sai was thinking of drawing a muzzle or at least a very large roll of duct tape, and Kakashi currently had an open volume of Icha Icha over his face lying on his back. _

"…_Hai, Naruto…" came Kakashi's annoyed reply, "…I can hear you…with you being right next to my ear and all, how could I not?"_

"_Well, answer me next time! I thought that your hearing had finally gone old man…"_

_Insert our trio of brave adults as they try to endure Naruto's endless chatter…_

"_Aaah!" cried Sakura in frustration as she sat up right in her sleeping bag, dark circles under her eyes and her hair shooting up in odd angles, "I can't take it anymore!" Inner Sakura had definitely won the battle this time, "Kuso! Make him stop! _

_Sai's eye had started to twitch and his face was currently blank as he stared at the blonde who was currently oblivious to the turmoil that he was creating._

"_Oi Kakashi—_

"_Naruto," his voice was firm, "Go. To. Sleep."_

"_But you have to hear this—_

"_Naruto!" came three cries as he was forced to take in the looks of his teammates._

_Sakura looked like she was about to yell 'Chaa!' at any moment and throttle him, Icha Icha had slid down Kakashi's face, his visible eye held a death glare, and Sai was definitely holding something that resembled a gag…_

_10 minutes later…_

"_Kami, why didn't we do this sooner?" questioned Sakura, lying back down in her sleeping bag, finding her side to be more comfortable, and looking over at Kakashi to her right. _

"_Perhaps we were too optimistic?" replied Kakashi, lying on his back once more, with Icha Icha over his face. _

"…_At least there won't be anymore interruptions…" commented Sai, lying to the right of Kakashi._

"_Hai," came two replies simultaneously and then the three let out a sigh of relief in unison before stating, "Good night!"_

_As for the forth member of Team Kakashi, he was currently KO'd and hanging from a nearby tree top with a gag in his mouth. _

_-_

"_Date, MY ass!" rang out the angry voice of one pink haired medic nin._

_Kakashi sweatdropped and held his hands out in front of him, chuckling nervously and trying to avoid the death glare that Sakura was currently giving him as they stood outside of a questionable establishment. _

"_Now Sakura-chan…it's kind of like a date," he informed, giving her a happy eye crease and a masked smile._

_Sakura's eye twitched, her hands at her sides were currently clenching and unclenching as she read the sign written in golden italics, 'Lustful Illustrations,' "How," she began through grit teeth and grounded out, "is this a date?"_

"_Well, it's funny that you asked that," replied Kakashi, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "You see Sakura…"_

_Oh she saw alright, right next to the tasteful name of the store was a promotional poster for "The Icha Icha Paradise Dating Game!"_

……………

"_No way!" her voice echoed through the alley way as she turned ready to stomp off back to her apartment only to be halted as Kakashi's statement hit her ears… "Nani?" she growled._

"_I said I took the liberty to sign us up in advance…"_

_Oh, Kami! Kakashi had signed her name and exposed her as being part of a perverse erotic literature contest?! His 'hehe' was heard as her mouth hung open in disbelief, while Inner Sakura yelled 'Hehe, MY ass! Kakashi's a dead man! Shannarro!'_

……………

_Kakashi gave a happy eye crease as Sakura sat in the back of the dirty book store staring at the list of events that she would have to endure and for what? Yes, that was a good question…she slowly turned her head toward the rather large promotional poster to her left which had a rather clad woman and what Sakura assumed to be her lustful lover in the middle. _

_Shaking her head, Sakura tried to find where there may be some words on the graphic disturbing advertisement, ah yes, in fine print near the bottom (wouldn't want to take away from the illustration mind you) she read "Icha Icha Paradise Date Game! Where couples will compete for Icha Icha…_

_About five lines later Sakura found a word or two that had caught her interest, 'Oh yeah, and a weekend get away to a hot springs resort, all expenses paid.' She arched an eyebrow at this information and thought that maybe this wouldn't be so bad…until her eye fell on the list in front of her._

_All Activities Will Be For Couples Only: Icha Icha Style!_

_1. A Three Legged Race_

_2. Pie Eating Contest_

_3. Sack Race_

_4. Act out your favorite Icha Icha Scene_

_5. Scavenger Hunt_

_6. Bobbing for "Apples"_

_7. Obstacle Course_

_8. Write your own Icha Icha Scene_

_Sakura hung her head in awe, her eye twitching, this wasn't a date, this was hell! She could anticipate herself being groped, sized up, among other not so pleasant things throughout the course of this distasteful little game. A hand came into her view and rested on her leg._

_Oh Kami, the groping had begun! _

_She clenched her fist getting ready to send the man--who owned the hand—packing with no hope for return, however, she blinked and lifting her head she viewed Kakashi's fist connecting with the man's jaw and watched him sail into a nearby shelve of revolting writings. Sakura glanced back toward Kakashi who was currently holding the latest copy of Icha Icha in his right hand and reading. _

_She was very tempted to give him a smile or some form of affection, however, when her eye caught sight of the nasty little memento dubbed 'the list' that thought went right down the drain and soon followed her dignity. _

……………

_Kami, was there anything that Kakashi wouldn't do for Icha Icha? It must be nice to know that you play second fiddle to a collection of dirty books! Its times like these that Sakura had to question: If Kakashi's apartment was on fire and she was trapped inside, would he _

_A. Save her in a heart beat _

_B. Save his books_

_C. Save his books and then her _

_D. Ah, hell, she's a ninja! She fairs better than his books! They deserve a chance too! _

_So here she was currently watching some perverted old man tie a rope around her left leg and Kakashi's right. And this would probably work real well if Kakashi wasn't, oh I don't know, half a foot TALLER! _

_Sakura grumbled while looking around at the other lucky participants female companions who were either A. homelier than a cart load of assholes or B. Nice young women obviously in the same boat as she and sharing similar feelings._

_She could say 'Do it for the man you love!' but no…she was going to have to think solely of the hot springs, then perhaps she could find some pleasure in drowning Kakashi in one of them when they won. _

_Sakura couldn't help but sweatdrop as she gathered their surroundings, just where the hell was the finish line? And why are there arrows pointing every which way, had she missed something while day dreaming about drowning Kakashi? Kuso, she did! _

"_Ne, Kakashi…" she began, leaning forward to see his face and feeling his arm wrap around her waist, before slowly wrapping hers around his own, "Just how long is this race anyways?"_

"_Spacing out Sakura-chan?" he asked shooting her a happy eye crease and watching her cheeks turn red in embarrassment, "I'll take that as a yes, well the referee stated that the race is 5 miles and that during the course there will be arrows that will keep us on track."_

_Sakura's shoulders slumped and she hung her head, "I hate you already," she mumbled._

"_Cheer up, I'm sure I can make it up to you at the hot springs," replied Kakashi, catching her eye and a slight blush, as he grinned behind his mask, "Hai, I'm well aware of the hot springs, Sakura-chan."_

_Well this made life more interesting, now didn't it? He wasn't just in it for the Icha Icha? He wanted to spend time with her? Life was looking up!_

"_Couples, On your mark…"_

"_Ready Sakura-chan?" he questioned while patting her hip with his gloved hand. _

"_As ready as I'll ever be…" she replied, putting her leg forward and hoping that they weren't going to fall flat on their faces once crossing the starting line. _

"_Get Set…"_

_They took a quick glance toward their competition and then at each other a competitive look in both their eyes…_

"_GO!" _

_And they're off! _

_(What are you doing? This isn't NASCAR, there are no commercials, get back in your seat…)_

"_Mou…what is this?" asked Sakura with a sweatdrop appearing as she read the helpful hints on the path, 'Want to get in touch with nature?' 'Stop here to work off your pent up frustrations' 'Why not stop and take care of your partner?' 'Wear yourself out doing other activities'. _

"…_Just a few ideas to get people to enjoy the race I would imagine, and from the sounds of it some people have decided to take these suggestions to heart," commented Kakashi, sweatdropping and chuckling nervously at the death glare he got in return._

……………

_And it's Hatake and Haruno coming up at first, taking to the tree tops to pass the competition at the half way mark…2 ½ miles to go…_

"_This would be so much easier if we could use chakra," commented Sakura as she hopped to another branch her arm wrapped securely around his waist. _

"_Hai, I suppose it would, but now that would be cheating Sakura," informed Kakashi, hopping to the next branch on their path, currently tree hopping._

"_Mou, Kaka…it wouldn't really be cheating," she began, shooting him a smile, "we'd just win the trip to the hot springs a lot quicker."_

_He shot her a happy eye crease in return, "We won't lose Sakura-chan, I'll make sure of that."_

_Kakashi, miss out on Icha Icha and a romantic weekend get away with Sakura? I think not…_

_And it's Hatake and Haruno now coming into view on the last lap, and the finish line is just up ahead, but what's this? Looks like new comers Kochi and Kagawa are coming on strong!_

"_Ready Sakura?" questioned Kakashi, glancing at their arriving competition out of the corner of his eye. _

"_Hai!" she replied nodding her head in affirmation before increasing her speed._

**Round One: Hatake and Haruno**

……………

_Sakura pulled out the folded list from her kunai pouch on her thigh with her free hand while she took a drink of water from her water bottle. _

_Kakashi stood behind her with his hands in his pockets and he rested his chin on her shoulder and sighed, "What's next blossom?"_

"_A pie eating contest," she informed, tilting her head slightly to get a better view of his masked face, "You ok? You look a little tired," she informed bringing up her hand and pushing back some lose strands of hair from his forehead, his hitai-ate disregarded for the day along with his jounin vest. _

"_Just fine Sakura," he informed, keeping his chin on her shoulder as he felt her hand gently pushing back his hair._

"_Ok because I hope you're hungry…" she commented, leaning her cheek up against his own and motioning toward the rather large table of pies and one rather large man already sitting with his equally large companion. _

_Kakashi sweatdropped, "I hope you didn't eat breakfast today Sakura…"_

……………

_Well this is an Icha Icha style contest, so what did Sakura really expect? She thought she'd be eating pie? Oh no no…_

_Sakura let out a sigh, shaking her head in anger, disbelief or possibly both as she straddled Kakashi's leg while sitting on his lap and held a pie in one hand and a fork in the other. She sweatdropped, looking around at the other bakas that had been suckered into this game, and noticing that Kakashi should think of himself as a lucky man because there were a few women that looked like they needed two men to sit on. _

_She looked down at the fork in her hand to find the piece of pie had disappeared and wondered how it was that he managed to pull off always eating when she wasn't looking. _

"_I can't believe I'm doing this…" she grumbled, feeling his hand gently rub her back in a reassuring manner._

"_Cheer up Sakura, only 8 more events to go…" replied Kakashi with a masked grin._

"…_Is that supposed to be comforting?"_

**Round Two: Came In Second, Out Eaten By The Fat Man**

……………

"…_So…full…" mumbled Kakashi, slouching with his hands in his pockets._

"_Hai, I imagine you would be after eating 20 pies…" replied Sakura with a smile, standing in front of him and patting his stomach with her right hand for emphasis, "Still don't know where you put all that pie…" she glanced over at 'pie boy' who had out eaten Kakashi by 5 pies and sweatdropped, "…But I think I know where he does…"_

_Kakashi sighed, feeling that he would never again eat pie, as he heard the referee announcing that the next event would be the sack race._

"_Well cheer up Kaka…now you can work off all that pie during the sack race," informed Sakura, giving him a smile. _

_Kakashi grinned and couldn't help what came out of his mouth, "But Sakura we've already been in the sack together, several times might I add."_

_Sakura's face reddened in embarrassment as she felt his hand ruffling her pink locks, "Kakashi, you pervert…" she grumbled._

_Gives new meaning to the phrase 'in the sack'…_

_Sakura sweatdropped as she was handed a sack that she was told would accommodate two. She grumbled before setting the sack on the ground and motioning for Kakashi to get in, "After you."_

"_Oh no, I insist, ladies first," informed Kakashi who received a glare from the pink haired kunoichi at his side as she took hold of his shoulder for support before stepping inside of the sack, once she had succeeded in this task he shrugged and stepped in as well pulling up the edges of the sack._

"_Pretty cozy isn't it?" he asked with a chuckle._

"…_I'll give you cozy…" she stated through grit teeth, wanting the entire ordeal to be over with. _

_Kakashi grinned, he always did love getting a rise out of her, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and swayed to the left and then to the right all the while standing in their humble sack awaiting the referee to give the signal (after finding a sack or five to accommodate the rather large pairing)._

_All the while Sakura feeling like she was living in some demented dream, and if Kakashi made them sway one more time she was seriously going to go postal…_

_The whistle blew and off our brave participants went…_

_Hop. Hop. Hop._

_Yes, it was a slow journey ahead of our favorite shinobi._

_Hop. Hop. Watch out for falling participants up ahead. Hop. Hop._

_Hop. Hop. Yes you get the idea now…half way there…_

_Lost another one on the road of life…and another hop and our lovely duo had hopped their way across the finish line. _

_Sakura could only grumble as she stepped out of the sack, only to have her eye twitch at what the referee informed them of, "Alright, great job you two. I can really tell that you can get the job done in the sack."_

_Insert Kakashi sweatdropping and Sakura turning red._

"_You can keep the sack as a keepsake," stated the referee with a grin, "reminds me of that one volume of Icha Icha where the only thing that Junko had was a feed sack…"_

_Sakura quickly shoved said sack over the man's head before grabbing Kakashi's right hand and heading away before she could hear any other 'lovely' details._

**Round Three: Hatake and Haruno**

……………

_Sakura pulled out her handy dandy—note—scratch that wrong series—list! She had so far crossed out three of the events keeping a tally sheet on those that they had won. So far it was 2-1. Her eyes scanned the page…_

"_We have to act out a scene from Icha Icha," it was more than a statement than a question really as she glared at the words in disgust. She glanced over at the group of perverts who were rummaging through previous volumes of Icha Icha like no tomorrow trying to find the right scene. _

_Before Kakashi could state his views on the current event she had dumped the bucket full of books in front of him only to receive a questioning glance in reply. _

"_Find me a scene where I don't have to take my clothes off and I will act it out," she stated through grit teeth. _

_Kakashi sweatdropped, this was going to be harder than it looked. He scratched the back of his head nervously before sitting down in amongst the pile of books and began his search._

……………

_Sakura was really losing patience as she watched Kakashi toss another volume aside, joining the four others that had been deemed too indecent for her taste. From the looks of their participants they were seriously going to lose this event as well…_

_She couldn't help but sweatdrop as she watched a young man and a young woman run around catering to the other couples with wheeled costume racks…oh she did not like this one bit…_

"_Found one," informed Kakashi, sighing in relief as he held out the book to Sakura. _

_She hesitantly took hold of the orange book and glanced down at him, "There had better not be anything perverted within the pages you've dog eared." _

_Kakashi watched her as she read the scene that he had selected and how her eye brow arched as she turned the page to continue reading. _

"_I like it," she informed, no sooner closing the book in her hand to find a rack and a young woman in front of her and eyeing her suspiciously. _

_Sakura sweatdropped as she eyed the name badge of the woman 'Mina' but her name wasn't what was so disturbing it was her place of employment 'Arousing Fantasies.' _

……………

_20 Minutes Later…_

_Sakura was pushed out of the dressing room by the gracious Mina who had dragged her into it in the first place. Her head was swimming with the number of outfits that she had been forced into. She grumbled and glanced around for Mina's partner in crime who had made off with Kakashi in the opposite direction._

_It didn't help that all of the participants were now dressed up too, some wearing fewer clothes than they probably should, she sweatdropped and continued her search. Her eyes fell on a misshapen patch of silver as she made her way toward the object of her affection. Making her way through the crowd she stopped a few feet from him a smile appearing on her face. There was her lover dressed in a gi, the robe half was white and the pants black, he wore black sandals and his classic black mask. _

_She cleared her throat and grinned when he turned toward her his right eye widening while his sharingan remained closed. His eyes fell on her and caused a faint tinge of pink to appear on her cheeks, as she stood before him wearing a red kimono adorned with pink lotus blossoms outlined in gold, and held by a matching pink obi across her waist, black sandals were currently on her feet. Her hair was up and twisted in the back with gold colored hair sticks decorated with red beads in order to hold the style, and silver hoop earrings resting in her ears to complete the look._

……………

"_I can't…" whispered Sakura, turning away from her lover and starting back home only to be halted by his hand on her wrist. She turned slowly and caught his eye._

"_Please Sayuri, don't you know how much you mean to me?" questioned Kakashi as he pulled her forward, her hand now resting on his chest as she looked up at him._

_They had endured three scenes where the acting had been so horrendous that Kakashi had vowed not to reread those volumes of Icha Icha for a long time, two erotic scenes that had caused Sakura to turn her back, and one scene where neither could detect either gender of the participants. Now it was their turn and the scene that they were acting out was of Junko's Great Grandparents Kantarou and Sayuri. Two star crossed lovers whose society would not allow them to be together. Sayuri was the heiress of a wealthy clan and Kantarou was a shinobi of their village. _

_She sighed and bowed her head, "Kantarou…how can you ask this of me when you know that I feel the same as you?" She couldn't help but sweatdrop while hearing one of the male participant's comments about how she could play Sayuri any day of the week and the agreement of several males who decided that the volume deserved another read. _

"_Then why do you turn from me? Is it because of what the village will think?" he asked, lifting her chin with his hand. _

_She shook her head, "It has nothing to do with the village; it has everything to do with my father and what may happen to you," she watched his face and sighed, "I couldn't bare to see you punished for loving me."_

"_I would take any punishment just for the chance to be with you my love," he informed, as her hand cupped the right side of his face. _

"_You don't understand," she pleaded, "my father will kill you," she pressed her finger to his lips to silence his objection, "I can no longer be yours, for my father has chosen a husband for me that was why I couldn't meet with you until now."_

"_You're engaged?" he sounded hurt as her hand lowered, "No, this cannot be…"_

_She turned her head from him to avoid his gaze, "He's a good man from a prominent family, he can give me the life that my father deems proper for me, and you will be free to choose a woman who deserves your love." _

"_A woman who deserves my love," he questioned, "you're absurd! How can I possibly choose another when you have captured my heart?"_

_She pushed him back, "Please don't make this any harder than it has to be; I don't deserve your love, and we both know that what we had was nothing more than an ideal…you and I could never really be together Kantarou…" _

_He clasped both of her wrists and heard her gasp in surprise, "Tell me you don't love me and I'll go."_

_She shook her head and tried to free herself from his grasp, "Let go of me!"_

_He pulled her close to him and leaned his head down, his masked lips brushing her own as her eyes widened in surprise—not to mention the hoots from the observers._

"_Tell me you don't and I'll let you go Sayuri. Better yet, tell me you love him and not me," he whispered taking in the woman before him. _

"_I…" she began, turning her head from him, only to have her chin seized by his right hand and forced to look him in the eye._

"_Say it to my face Sayuri. Say that you don't love me, that you never did, that all of our nights together meant nothing to you," he ordered, focusing on the emerald eyes of his lover._

"…_I…I…" she whispered, biting the inside of her lip as she took in his facial features, "…I cannot…I love you more than life itself," she informed, feeling the pressure of his grasp disappear from her wrists as she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close._

"_Arigatou, tenshi…you're so precious to me…" he whispered, resting his forehead on her shoulder—mentally sweatdropping as he heard the sighing of their captive audience and a couple voiced fantasies of being with the woman on stage._

"_You're precious to me as well, I couldn't possibly see myself loving anyone as much as I love you, and I truly do not want to become that man's wife, the idea of…" she trailed off, and felt his arms tighten around her back._

"_I would kill him before he was able to lay a hand on you," he whispered, feeling her cheek rest against his own, "the idea of him touching you sickens me. That is why I want you to come with me tonight. Will you do that?"_

_She nodded in affirmation, her hand gently rubbing the back of his head, "I would follow you anywhere love," she whispered and smiled as he stood up straight and took in her features. _

"_Good," he whispered before bridging the gap between them…_

_And to the audience's dismay Sakura pulled out a fan from her obi and opened it covering their faces._

……………

**Round Four: Hatake and Haruno**

"_Nani?!" exclaimed Sakura as she heard the judges voice their decision. _

_To say that it was a bit of a shocker to the medic nin would be an understatement, even Kakashi was silent as they awaited the reasoning behind the decision._

"_Hai! Your display was downright beautiful! You reminded the readers of Icha Icha of the history that allowed for our favorite character Junko to be born, without Sayuri and Kantarou, Junko would not have been able to court so many young and voluptuous women!" _

_Sakura sweatdropped, she should have known that there was some perverse reasoning behind their decision. Her sweatdrop only increased ten fold when she took in the view of a few leering men._

"_Man, I'm definitely going to go back and reread that volume; now when I think of Sayuri I'll have that sweet little visual aid in mind, especially when Kantarou and Sayuri seek refuge in the old barn."_

_Kakashi shot her a happy eye crease, "Well, it's a win Sakura," he informed, patting her shoulder only to receive a glare in response._

"_You call that a win? Now perverts are going to be imagining me in a barn…doing Kami knows what…" _

……………

_Sakura grumbled as she stepped out of the dressing room now wearing her regular attire once more, she dug in her pouch and pulled out the now crumpled piece of paper 'Scavenger Hunt'. _

"_That doesn't seem too bad," she voiced out loud as Kakashi came toward her now in his usual clothing, holding a list, that must contain the items that would need to be collected. _

"_Sakura, I got the list for the next event, we'll have 3 hours to collect all of the items; apparently, we can go anywhere in town to find them," he informed before handing her the list, "If you have any of these items it might save on some time."_

_Sakura took the list with a smile, however, that soon faded as the contents came into view:_

_1. Lubricating Jelly_

_2. Hand Cuffs_

_3. Paddles_

_4. Rope_

_5. Whip_

_After the fifth item on the list her mouth was hanging wide open, and only when she felt Kakashi's finger under her jaw and gently pushing upward did she come back to reality._

"_So I take it that you don't have any of these?"_

_Before she could open her mouth to protest he chuckled and held out his hand in his defense, "Kidding Sakura, however, we should be off if we hope to win this event."_

_She watched him as he headed out of the establishment, his hands in his pockets and his familiar slouch evident. As her eyes hesitantly scanned a few more items on the list:_

_15. Black Leather Boots_

_16. Nurse Outfit_

_Kami she does have a few! She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts before taking off after the mess of silver hair that stuck out in amongst the crowd. _

……………

"_Cheer up Sakura, it could be worse," informed Kakashi as he watched his kunoichi trudge along next to him._

_Before she could even open her mouth it got worse…_

"_Sakura-chan! Kakashi!" exclaimed Naruto as Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and ever so slowly turned to face him._

"_Yo," greeted Kakashi as his held up his hand in greeting._

"_What are you two doing?" he questioned, giving each of them his contagious smile._

_Sakura mentally grinned, no way were they going to tell him the truth, and with Kakashi being the master of lies, even if they were lame, they were in the clear._

"_We're on a scavenger hunt."_

_Her eye twitched as she kept her jaw from hanging in the breeze. That idiot! How could Kami be so cruel as to give her such a baka for a lover? What had she done wrong in a previous life?_

"_A scavenger hunt? I didn't know there was one going on," replied Naruto, scratching his chin in thought._

_Before Kakashi could open his mouth and dig them in deeper Sakura intervened, "Yes, it's for the…dog club!" _

_Kakashi shot her a look that screamed 'lame' which she proceeded to ignore, while the information processed in Naruto's mind. _

"_Ah…dog club huh?"_

"_Yup!" _

_Naruto looked from Sakura and then back to Kakashi who confirmed, "Hai, dog club, for people who love dogs," he informed with no ounce of enthusiasm what so ever._

"_Oh…well…" began Naruto, as he gave a shrug, "Sorry can't help you there, I don't have any leashes or collars…"_

"_Any hand cuffs by chance?" questioned Kakashi, only to feel a nicely growing lump on the back of his head, wincing before being dragged off by Sakura._

"_Gomen Naruto, we really must be going now!"_

_Naruto sweatdropped as he watched Sakura lead Kakashi down the street and shake her fist at him in a heated rage, while he waved his hands in defense in front of him and chuckled nervously. _

"_Wonder why they'd need handcuffs…hmmm…" but his wondering soon seized as the smell of ramen invaded his senses._

……………

**Round Five: Hatake and Haruno (Ino has a LOT of stuff and Kakashi has a big mouth)**

……………

_Sakura arched an eyebrow at the next item on the list 'Bobbing For Apples' what the hell kind of event is that? She looked down at Kakashi who currently had his head in her lap and was reading the latest copy of Icha Icha as they sat on a bench enjoying their short break after having traipsed around half of Konoha in search of distasteful items for the scavenger hunt. _

_She glanced over and shuddered at the look the leering man was giving her and noticed the familiar volume of Icha Icha in his hand. Great, she was now the star of an erotic literature novel. She hung her head and sighed in defeat, just what she always aspired to do in life._

"_Sakura, don't worry about it," informed Kakashi, flipping the page of his book, "all he's ever going to be able to do is look," he nonchalantly flipped another page, and stated in a tone that matched his behavior, "if he tried anything past looking I'd kill him outright."_

_Sakura couldn't help but feel her face heat up as she noticed the look in his eye, "You know Kaka, you can be really sweet sometimes," she whispered, and gently pushed his hair from his forehead. _

……………

_Kakashi chuckled and rubbed the back of his head as he now peered into a bucket of interesting floating objects all marked with little tags to distinguish the number of points assigned. Sakura on the other hand did not find anything humorous as her eye twitched in annoyance. Bobbing For Apples, had definitely been a typo…_

"_I'm not putting my mouth on any of those."_

"_Do it for the hot springs."_

"_You__ do it for the hot springs."_

"_On your marks…"_

"_The referee is starting Sakura."_

"_So he is." _

_Kakashi sweatdropped as he eyed the bucket once more and took in the sight of a water proof vibrator, edible underwear, among other things floating in his line of vision. Then his eye fell on Sakura whose hands were currently clenching and unclenching at her sides. _

"_Get set…"_

"_Sakura…"_

"_Kakashi."_

"_Gomen nasai."_

"_Go!"_

_Sakura's eyes widened as she felt her head being pushed forward and into the bucket. Kakashi held down her head with one hand while holding Icha Icha in the other, he looked over his book and shot out words of encouragement, "Go for the vibrator Sakura-chan, it has the highest number of points," he flipped the current page with his thumb. _

_The referee sweatdropped when he came to their side of the "community" bucket, "Um…sir?"_

"_Hai?" _

"_The bubbles stopped…"_

"_Oh," Kakashi looked up and sweatdropped, "that's never good, is it?" _

_Sakura's head came up out of the bucket, her hair clinging to the sides of her face and her initial appearance looked like that of a drowned rat. In her mouth, to Kakashi's dismay was not the waterproof vibrator, she spit out the current object in her mouth and a pool of water to accompany it. _

"_Good try Sakura-chan," stated Kakashi, flipping the novel in hand shut and nearly ducking out of the way in time as a chakra enhanced fist made contact with the wall in back of him and blew a hole out through the side of the building. _

……………

Round Six: Good Vibrations…Unless your name is Hatake Kakashi…Better luck next time

……………

_The shopkeeper was currently sobbing at the now rather large hole in the wall of his shop that would no doubt cost a pretty penny to have fixed. Needless to say the leering men had now distanced themselves from the pink haired medic nin feeling that if she could do that to an innocent wall there was no telling what she might do to them._

_Sakura turned her head away from Kakashi as he came back into view and sat down next to her obviously feeling a little nervous and rubbing the back of his head—the rather large hole to his left a reminder of her temper—and trying to choose the right words before proceeding. _

"_Sakura-chan?"_

"_Hmph."_

"_C'mon, you're not still mad are you?"_

"_Hmph."_

"_Look it wasn't that bad, I pulled you up when the bubbles stopped didn't I?" he thanked Kami for his quick reflexes, catching her fist in his hand before she made contact with his face. _

_She opened her mouth to argue with his logic but her eyes softened as she watched him unclench her fist and gently kiss the palm of her hand with his masked lips._

"_Did you hurt your hand when it went through the wall?" he questioned, examining her hand, "You weren't wearing your gloves after all."_

_Damn. Damn. Damn. How was it that the man could always melt her fowl mood just by doing something so simple?_

"…_It's alright…" she replied, her tone still holding a bit of agitation to it as she found herself unconsciously moving closer to him. _

"_Are you sure?" he prodded, his eye downcast and gently rubbing circles with his thumb to the back of her hand. _

_She nodded before she answered, "Hai…its fine…the chakra absorbs most of the blow," she couldn't help but allow a slight pink to taint her cheeks when his eye softened and lock with her own. _

"_So am I forgiven then," he whispered, leaning forward and watching her mimic his actions._

"_Hai," she informed, blushing as they bridged the space in between them._

"_Good," he responded, rather chipper too as she heard a click, "because these are for the next event."_

_Sakura blinked and looked down to find her left wrist hand cuffed to Kakashi's right, noticing the happy eye crease and smile hidden under his mask._

……………

_Kami they really wanted you to work for this trip didn't they? There were things on this obstacle course that Sakura could never again look at in the same way. They were currently about 20 minutes in as they noticed a pond coming into view._

_They stopped for a moment to catch their breaths, already in the lead, probably for reasons that should remain unknown…if the three legged race was any indication…_

"_You know Sakura-chan, we could take the advice of at least a few of these signs," informed Kakashi with a happy eye crease._

_Sakura turned a color that almost matched her hair, "Kakashi!" she exclaimed refraining from punching him, only to feel her cheeks become even more heated as he lifted her chin in his hand and after apparently deeming it safe lowered his mask. _

_He grinned as she closed her eyes and his lips met her own. Her right hand gently caressed his cheek as their kiss deepened and she felt his free arm wrap around her waist and pull her closer before breaking the kiss. _

"_If I knew that being handcuffed to you would result in this, I would have done it a lot sooner," he informed with a grin placing another kiss on her lips and rubbing her hip with his gloved hand. _

_She looked up at him and smirked, "Mou Kakashi…you didn't have to handcuff me for me to want to be near you, money or sake would have worked as well," she explained, standing on her tip toes to reach his lips once more, "We should get going…"_

"_Hai," he breathed in her essence as his mind wandered to thoughts of her, "we probably should."_

"_We've already won this game anyways," she stated, breaking the kiss with a sigh, her eyes still closed, feeling his joined hand squeeze her own, " only one more event to complete after this one and it's off to the hot springs."_

"_Hn, I look forward to it Sakura-chan."_

……………

_Barrel jumping is tough with two people, so is wall climbing, as well as, net climbing when the ends are only tied and the middle can flip over…_

"_Mou, we weigh too much," complained Sakura, as she held onto the netting with both hands after spinning upside down and back up right for the fourth time in a row._

_Kakashi sighed, they weren't making very much progress on this part of the course and by his calculations there were still at least five miles to go. _

"_You shouldn't have eaten so much pie, Kaka! You're weighing us down…" she grumbled, her head spinning from the ordeal. _

_Kakashi sweatdropped and let out a defeated sigh, he surely wasn't going to win at this rate so why even bother? _

……………

_Oh yeah, as for the other contenders, apparently they had taken more than one sign to heart. _

_And it was times like this that she wanted to throttle the one who had made using chakra illegal as she fell short and fell backwards toward the pit they had just attempted to jump as a team. _

_Kakashi spun around feeling a pull on his right hand only to catch a glimpse of his pink haired lover falling backwards toward the deep pit before them. _

_Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she felt herself being pulled up, thank Kami for Kakashi and his lightning quick reflexes. What were they thinking when they dug this pitfall? It had to be at least twenty feet deep. She let out a deep breath as her feet touched the now solid ground. _

"_Gomen I slipped," she apologized, obviously embarrassed and by the look of things he was rather surprised. _

"_Don't apologize, if you wanted to be in a pit with me, since you already gave up our sack earlier, all you had to do was ask," he teased with a classic smirk hidden under his mask as she nearly fell backwards in response and into the pit once more._

……………

"_Duck."_

"_Hai."_

"_Incoming."_

"_Hai."_

_The last mile had been similar to this. Kakashi had detected the direction of the traps and who knew that Sakura could overuse a simple word like hai?_

"_You know," began Sakura, ducking with him as a log fell from over head, "this is worse than the time Naruto and I tried to find Orochimaru's whereabouts and met up with Kabuto when we were still Genin." _

"_Oh?" asked Kakashi, jumping with her as a series of kunai shot out from a triggered trap._

"_Hai, Naruto goes in telling me to follow and stay close and watch out for traps…" she sweatdropped as she continued, "which might I add he triggered all of them."_

"_Classic Naruto," commented Kakashi, shaking his head for effect._

"_That baka stepped on a trigger in the floor and opened up a pitfall, tripped a wire and had us fleeing for our lives from flying kunai, and by the time we met up with Kabuto we were already exhausted."_

……………

**Round Seven: Definitely wasn't much of a battle seeing as they were able to walk to the finish line…**

……………

"_Here."_

"_What's this?"_

"_Pen and paper."_

_Kakashi looked up and sweatdropped as she stood before him holding out a writing tablet and a pen. _

"_You write with it," she teased making a scribbling motion with the pen in her hand, as she passed it to him, "the next part is to write an Icha Icha scene and while you do that I'm going to go get some dinner."_

"_Don't you want to help me write it?" he questioned, watching her saunter off toward the exit._

"_Nope. Complete confidence in your writing abilities. You write and I'll eat. Ja Kakashi."_

……………

_Kakashi let out a sigh, "Do you want to proof read it?"_

"_Nope."_

"_Do you even want to know what it's about?"_

"_Nope."_

"…_Do I get any miso for my troubles?"_

"_Um…"_

"_Did you eat it all?"_

"…"

……………

**Round Eight: Good news they won the trip to the hot springs. Bad news Kakashi was out written, went hungry, and had to be escorted to the door with his prizes by Sakura who felt that one hole in the wall was all that the shopkeeper could take for one day, a chidori made hole would surely put him over the edge.**

-

_Sakura's eye twitched as she dropped her bag on the floor of the hotel room of the hot springs resort. She had taken a weekend off from the hospital for this? Oh yes, the room and the resort were amazing, not the problem…_

"_If I had known that Jiraiya owned this resort I don't think I would have been so enthused to come," she grumbled taking a seat on the queen sized bed that as perverse luck would have it squeaked. _

_Kakashi sweatdropped and took a seat next to her, resulting in yet another rather loud squeak, only to watch her eye twitch uncontrollably. _

"_I can't stay in here, there's probably cameras set up for 'research' purposes!" she exclaimed with complete annoyance to the whole situation. _

_He couldn't help but sigh and put his arm around her shoulders, "Sakura, stop complaining…I never get to be seen with you like this in Konoha."_

"…_Kakashi…" she timidly replied, feeling rather foolish for not being able to control her outbursts. She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him, "Gomen, regardless of what you may think, I really am glad to be with you."_

"_Are you really Sakura? Because sometimes I wonder…" he began, watching her emerald orbs as they looked up at him in confusion, "Would you prefer someone your own age? So that you could be seen with—_

_She silenced him by placing her finger to his lips, "Please don't do this again…" she pleaded, "I can't make myself stop loving you so please don't ask me to. Gomen if I make you uncomfortable or if my age is the problem, but I don't care what people think about us, I just want to—_

_This time it was his turn to silence her as his lips crushed her own, ending any further discussion, his hands cupping the side of her face, as he felt her hands rest on his shoulders and she responded to his kiss. Their relationship was wrong on so many levels; however, he could not deny that what he felt for her was in deed love and his desire for being with her outweighed any of their society's ideals. _

_The searching for cameras would have to wait, as he rested her back against the pillow with the onset of squeaking, the fingers of his left hand intertwining with her own as he rested his weight on his right forearm, breaking their heated kisses only long enough to voice one thought and hear its reply,_

"_You mean more to me than any woman I've ever known…"_

"_And I adore you…"_

_He watched her face and memorized her features, his left eye open as well to have a better view of her. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest and was aware of her left hand in his hair as she smiled up at him, her cheeks flushed and creating a glow on her skin. _

_She watched his eyes, which were reflecting such lust and yet love at the same moment, as she felt his left hand squeeze her right, his lips gently meeting her own once more as she closed her eyes and let out a sigh of content. _

……………

"…_Mou…you baka…" she teased, watching him enter their private hot spring, as she was currently submerged in the water, with her hair pinned up and a fitted towel around her body. _

_Kakashi lowered himself into the water and arched an eyebrow, "Nani?"_

"_You wore your mask into the hot spring?" She rolled her eyes in disbelief, "Kami, you did that when I was twelve too."_

_His right eye widened, "Pardon? How do you know about that," he questioned, moving closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist as she placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled._

"_Do you remember the trip that team 7 took and we wanted to see what was under your mask?"_

_He chuckled and watched as she hooked her finger in his mask and gently lowered it, "Hai, I remember, but what does that have to do with the hot springs?"_

"_Well why do you think that Naruto and Sasuke asked you to go to the hot springs," she commented with a laugh, "obviously to see under your mask and you wore it in there…"_

"_Did they tell you, Sakura-chan," he questioned, kissing her neck, "Or did you learn something from Jiraiya?"_

"_I really wanted to see too you know! But the hole was way too small and I couldn't see anything…" she explained, the embarrassment not to mention frustration evident in her voice as rested her forehead against his shoulder. _

"_Aa. Your faces were quite amusing when I revealed another mask to you three," he murmured with another amused chuckle._

"_Mou…you were so mean…" she mumbled, resting her hand on the back of his head and running her fingers through his silver locks. _

"_I could make it up to you now, if you like…"_

_She could hear the grin in his voice, "I thought that you already did earlier in the hotel room?" _

"_We have all weekend that was just the beginning, since you adore me…I didn't think that you'd have a problem with it," he explained, feeling her pull him closer in response._

"_No problem here…" she whispered and then sweatdropped as she heard a rustling from the bushes to their left behind the wooden fence. _

_Kakashi's right eye widened and noticed how Sakura's eyebrow was arched as she mouthed the word 'pervert' before letting go of him to pick up a nearby rock from the spring's stone wall. _

_A thud rang out as the rock made contact with the apparent pervert and as the colorful words rang out from his mouth, both couldn't help but sweatdrop and lower themselves deeper into the pool as they mouthed in unison 'Jiraiya, figures.'_

_-_

So for the next installment I was thinking of doing Kakashi and Sakura's POVs and alternating…thought that it would be an interesting change and get to see how they view each other and their relationship, the things unsaid, and all that good stuff. Could I please get some feedback if this is something you'd like to see, as well as, any scenes that you might want to see from one of their POVs?


	5. Perverts, Love, And Loss

Author's Note: Arigato for your reviews as always, I really do find them to be quite encouraging. This chapter will be a collection of events in the POV of our two favorite shinobi. Very much a challenge especially trying to figure out the thoughts of one Hatake Kakashi…it's a scary place in that mind of his…lots of Icha Icha running around (cough cough) well please enjoy. The ellipses dividers will be for signaling a change in POV (typically Sakura, Kakashi and at times third person) so please keep that in mind so you won't get confused.

-

Friday: Weekend Get Away Remainder of Day 1

-

That stupid pervert Jiraiya had to go and ruin everything. Thanks to him we've been forced to retreat inside. Kakashi mentioned something about the air getting cooler, which even for him is pretty lame, if you ask me he didn't want the perverted sannin to get the opportunity to do _research_ for his next volume of Icha Icha.

Not that I wanted him to get the opportunity either but now we're stuck inside and I just wanted to soak in the hot tub for the rest of the evening. I flop backwards onto the bed which creates a rather loud chorus of squeaks and let out a sigh. So ends night one of a lovely weekend…

……………

To say that Sakura's mood has been dampened is an understatement, I think, as I look up from the latest copy of Icha Icha in my hand, sitting in the chair across from the bed.

What did she want me to do: keep making out with her in the hot tub while Jiraiya-sama _the _author of Icha Icha _and _owner of this resort watched? Or could it be that she was hoping that I would dispose of him quietly so we could continue to be outside?

_A thud rang out as the rock made contact with the apparent pervert and as the colorful words rang out from his mouth, both couldn't help but sweatdrop and lower themselves deeper into the pool as they mouthed in unison 'Jiraiya, figures.'_

_They could hear the perverted sannin grumbling incoherent phrases about young love, good aim, and a woman with a body so hot he had to draw it. _

_Kakashi leaned forward, his lips only inches from her ear, his warm breath trickling down her neck, "The air is cooling down blossom, we should go inside…" with that said he replaced the mask that had just been pooling around his neck and reached over to retrieve a towel for his lover. He quickly wrapped the towel around her the moment she stood, shielding her from the lecher, who he knew was more than likely still watching, the steam wouldn't deter him from his research. _

My right eye narrows, while my left remains closed, as I think that it would have been a cold day in hell before I would let Jiraiya sketch Sakura in a hot tub—author of my favorite book series or not, I never want to see Sakura appear within the pages of his next graphic novel.

I can't help but notice the long drawn out sigh escaping from her lips as she lays sprawled out on her back on the bed we will be sharing. A grin appears on my masked face as I close the cover of my book and set it down on the night stand before making my way over to the bed.

My right eye goes into a classic eye crease as I throw my weight onto the bed and watch her form lift from the mattress followed by an onset of squeaks from the box springs, and grin hearing her gasp in surprise.

In lightning quick movements I remove my mask, and lean my weight on my left forearm before covering her lips with my own the moment her back finds the mattress and smirk when I feel her respond.

So we had to move inside…big deal…I can think of plenty of ways to keep her and myself occupied indoors for hours.

……………

Saturday: Weekend Get Away Day 2

Sakura slowly opened her eyes to a knock coming from their room door. A first she thought that maybe ignoring the person would result in them giving up, however, this person appeared to be rather persistent. She sat up slowly, her hair shooting up at odd angles, and slowly removed Kakashi's arm from around her waist.

How was it that the man had the reflexes of a cat when on a mission, but found a person at the door of their hotel room, knocking at…she squinted trying to get a clearer view of the clock, ah yes, knocking at 7:30 a.m. was no concern?

Letting a yawn escape her, she put on her white bathrobe, and leisurely undid the dead bolt in the door. She slowly opened the door to find a bell hop in front of her…

"Konnichiwa…" she greeted tiredly, a small smile appearing on her face. It wasn't until the white hair of the bell hop caught her eye that her eyes widened.

And her mouth nearly dropped open when she heard the onset of squeaking coming from the bed to signal her that her lover had just risen...and watched in horror as the bell hop grinned lecherously, after taking in the sight of the second party member.

……………

Of all the godforsaken people in the world to find out about our relationship, _why _did it have to be Jiraiya? This question keeps running through my mind even though it's been at least half an hour since Kakashi offered to take a _walk_ with Jiraiya.

I sit on the edge of the bed, still in my bathrobe, rubbing my temples, feeling the terrible effects of a lingering headache brought on by earlier events.

_Kakashi's visible eye widened as he stared toward the open door to reveal the one, the only, infamous sannin and author of his favorite book series—Jiraiya— standing in the doorway of their hotel room, with a lecherous smirk on his face. Kami, shoot him now…_

_It didn't take any time for Jiraiya to make his way into their cozy room and practically grinning from ear to ear at their expense while doing so, "So you two were the lucky pair who won the Konoha Icha Icha Contest…frankly Sakura, I didn't think you were a fan of my work."_

"_She isn't," corrected Kakashi, leaning with his back up against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, "I forced her to enter the contest, seeing how the rules stated a male and female pairing as a requirement."_

_If it were possible Jiraiya's grin widened, as he turned his attention to the flustered kunoichi to his left, "I'm guessing that you had to force her to get into bed with you as well then?"_

_Sakura's face turned a color that matched her hair, while Kakashi's right eye narrowed into a glare that would have killed a lesser man in an instant and the thought of opening the left to finish the job had crossed his mind. _

_Normally, Kakashi wouldn't give a damn about what people said, but the fact that the father of all perverts knew of their relationship before their own village…well that didn't sit well with him. Jiraiya was like the male version of Ino, if he knew, the entire village would know by the time they stepped foot in the gates. _

"_What do you want?" questioned Kakashi, getting right to the point, while arching his right eyebrow._

"_What do I want?" replied the perverted old sannin, tapping his chin with his index finger in thought before his gaze turned to Sakura. "Well, since you have this beautiful cherry blossom all to yourself…"_

_Sakura could feel the tension in the air, the aura of death radiating from Kakashi, and the perverted intentions emanating from Jiraiya as he voiced his wants…her mouth nearly dropped open in awe._

"_I figure you wouldn't mind if I borrowed her for a few hours and had her model for the next graphic installment of Icha Icha. I have a new theme in mind, that I just thought up last night, 'Icha Icha: Forbidden Fantasies' and I think that she could be just the inspiration I need in order to get my thoughts down on paper," he informed, before leaning closer toward her and smiling, "you don't even have to wear that bathrobe if you don't want to Sakura." _

_It was in that instant that Sakura wished that she could become one with the room and disappear, the atmosphere had gotten deathly cold and she could swear she heard the faint crackling of lightning nearby. _

_She cautiously glanced over in Kakashi's direction to find him with two happy eye creases—not good, she noted—and an apparent smile from behind his mask as he pushed himself away from the wall and walked toward Jiraiya._

"_Jiraiya-sama, I'm sure that we can come to an understanding, why don't we take a walk?" offered the copy nin, before placing his arm around Jiraiya's shoulders and kindly escorting him toward the door, he opened the door to head down the hallway with his friend in tow but not before turning to acknowledge the baffled kunoichi still sitting on the bed, "I'll be back, Sakura-chan," he stated with a happy eye crease before closing the door behind them._

That had been almost forty-five minutes ago, what in Kami's name could they be talking about that would take this long—although I can't help but smile at the thought of Kaka actually showing some emotion toward Jiraiya's suggestion.

I just hope that Jiraiya will keep his mouth shut; Kakashi's an extremely private person, that's one of the main reasons why we haven't openly shared our relationship with the rest of Konoha. Not to mention that there's a great deal of old fashioned people who believe that our age differences and status of being _former _sensei and student is taboo.

I fall backwards onto the bed, yes, with the onset of squeaking following my descent. My life will never again be the same now, I think as I bring my right arm up and drape it across my eyes. I'll probably end up being the newest attraction in Jiraiya's next smutty novel, as well as, the talk of the town, having to answer questions from Ino like _'Is Kakashi good in bed' _or comments from Naruto, _'What does Kakashi's face look like?'_ and _'Sakura-chan you wouldn't kiss a guy with beaver teeth or fish lips would you?'_

And when all hope is lost I hear the click of the door knob and lift my arm away from my eyes to see Kakashi reentering our room.

……………

Kakashi's gaze fell on Sakura who was staring back at him from the bed, while awaiting his answer, "It's taken care of."

Her eyes widened at his cryptic statement. How was it taken care of? What had happened between Kakashi and Jiraiya once they left the room? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop—the world may never know!

She watched as he took a seat in the chair next to the night stand and picked up the latest copy of Icha Icha; he carefully thumbed through the pages of the green covered novel and once satisfied with the page he had left off with started reading. Perhaps it was better that she didn't know what their agreement had entailed…

……………

Sunday: Weekend Get Away Day 3 – Final Day

Jiraiya has _mysteriously_ disappeared, however, even when I took a dip in the hot spring today I couldn't help but wonder if he had made himself an inanimate object or a toad for his viewing pleasure. I wonder if I'll ever know what Kakashi offered the perverted author in exchange for his silence. I can't imagine going back to Konoha in the morning and having everyone staring at us wide eyed and open mouthed. I love our village but the people are seriously a bunch of gossips with nothing better to do then take bets on the success or failure rate of the latest relationship to hit the streets.

Over all, today was a really good day. Kaka can really be so sweet, a side that he very rarely shows to anyone, I know. We had breakfast in bed this morning…

"_Kakashi, it's too early to eat breakfast," whined Sakura, placing the covers back over head, only to feel the bed sag from the added weight as Kakashi lowered himself into the bed along side of her, with a tray in hand. _

"_It's 8:30 Sakura, how long do you intend to sleep?" questioned Kakashi, grinning as he saw the covers slowly lower to reveal her sleepy eyed face, staring back at him with bed ridden hair as an added bonus._

"_I guess I'm done sleeping…" she grumbled, before slowly sitting up and propping her pillow up behind her as she leaned her back up against the head board of the bed. "So what's for breakfast?"_

_He placed the tray over her lap and slowly lifted the cover on the silver dish to reveal a traditional Japanese breakfast of tamagoyaki, rice, and miso soup. She could already guess who was going to get the miso soup, but she really couldn't say that she minded, especially as she watched his right eye light up at the sight of his favorite soup. To think that the revered copy nin of Konoha could become so excited over soup…and porn…couldn't forget his smutty novels._

_She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the tamagoyaki and let out a sigh in contentment, for some reason food always tasted better when served. Sakura arched an eyebrow as she caught sight of his right eye fixated on her._

"_What? Do I have something on my face?" she questioned, searching for a napkin, only to have her hand halted by his._

"_No, you're just adorable when you're hungry," he informed, shooting her a classic eye crease in the process._

"_I'm adorable?" she began, unable to hide the smirk appearing on her face, "look at you, you've almost polished off the miso, you look as though you've died and gone to heaven."_

"_Maybe I have," was his sincere reply, "If heaven entails waking up next to you every morning then I'll never leave."_

_Now would have been the perfect time for Sakura to have that warm feeling inside of her, to know that the man she loves had just openly admitted that he had no reason to ever leave her; however, this __**is**__Hatake Kakashi she was dealing with…_

"_You read that in Icha Icha didn't you?" she asked in a flat tone of voice, before taking another bite of tamagoyaki in the process._

_Kakashi tipped his bowl up to his lips to savor the last remains of his miso, "Hai, I read it in Icha Icha Tactics volume 11."_

"_Why, am I not surprised?" she mumbled, while shaking her head at his openness. _

……………

Ok so Kakashi's as lame as ever, but then we did go take in some of the scenery. Who knew that the resort was only a few miles away from one of the most beautiful gardens that I've ever seen? Every flower imaginable must have been in full bloom…

"_Kakashi?"_

_Her voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts, his eye leaving the novel in hand, to glance down at her as she sat in between his legs with her back resting against his chest. _

"_Even if Jiraiya told everyone, it wouldn't change anything," informed Sakura, feeling his chin rest on her shoulder and his arm tighten around her waist. _

"_That's good to know, Sakura-chan," he whispered, feeling her relax in his embrace, "because then Konoha might think that I'm an even bigger pervert than I was, or that the pages of Icha Icha warped my mind and caused me to see my former student in a different light."_

"_You never did tell me why you fell in love with me," she whispered, closing her eyes in the process._

"_Aa that is a good question isn't it? I suppose over time I realized that you had matured from the twelve year old girl that I once knew, into a beautiful and talented kunoichi. Your talent for chakra control exceeds even my own, your medical skills rival that of Tsunade, and even though a shinobi's greatest weakness is to show emotion, yours happen to be your greatest strength. How could I not have noticed you?"_

"_So it's my skills that made you see me in a different light?" she questioned, opening her eyes and turning her head to the side to study his masked face._

"_More than that, Sakura, it was your ability to care for others and your strong will. Remember when we had been ambushed by enemy nins and I told you to leave me for I had over used the sharingan?"_

"_Hai, I was so worried about you, not only had you over exerted yourself but the wound that you had received could have been fatal if I had gone in search of Naruto or Sai."_

"_That was the first time that I realized that you were no longer the teenaged girl that I had always protected without a second thought. Your ability to love Sakura, it's amazing, to think that you cared enough about me to deliberately disobey an order," he shook his head in disbelief, "you scared the hell out of me Sakura-chan when you collapsed in my arms on the field," he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him._

"_Gomen, Kakashi…but I could never leave you," she began, bringing her left hand up to cup the side of his face, "you meant so much to me, you were my former sensei, my team captain, and my friend—you, Naruto, and I had become family over the years and the thought of leaving you there to die was unbearable, not to mention that I learned the most important lesson from you Kakashi…to never abandon my comrades…"_

"_Sakura, when was it that you realized you were in love with me?" questioned Kakashi, closing his right eye, content with her in his arms. _

"_I suppose after that mission we began to talk more. It seemed as though I had no problem finding you and for the first time in years we began to have conversations other than on the training field, or when you did your one fingered push ups with me on your back," Sakura couldn't help but laugh in between her explanation, "even if all you ever gave me was a grunt to let me know you were listening. No, I loved you the moment I saw the way you looked at me, as though I was more beautiful then any other woman. At first I was confused and thought that I had been imagining things but then when we would go out with Naruto and Sai for our weekly team dinners I would notice the way your eye would stray to me and no matter what I said you always smiled. Then everything else just fell into place, I was attracted to you and then next I knew over the course of a year I was in love, and the look on your face when my date kissed me was heartbreaking, I realized you meant so much to me and hoped that I meant the same to you."_

"_So that's why you told me that you loved me?" he questioned with a grin appearing from behind his mask, "Very clever, Sakura-chan, you wanted to wait and see what I would do next."_

"_Hai, I figured that it wasn't every day that I could surprise the great sharingan Kakashi, and it was now or never, and I've never regretted my decision to tell you. Aishiteru…" a small gasp escaped her lips as she felt his naked lips cover her own. _

"_You too love," he breathed in between their heated kisses._

……………

"Kakashi?"

Sakura's voice rang out through the wooded path, they had been traveling for the last two hours now, on their return from the hot springs resort and she had suddenly found herself alone and still a few hours from Konoha.

"Kakashi, I know you can hear me!" she informed, shifting the pack on her back, standing in the middle of the path, her eyes scanning the area, "C'mon old man or I'm leaving without you!"

She gasped as she felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind, and his warm breath trick down her neck as he spoke, "Who's an old man?"

Sakura couldn't help but smile as she watched her replacement turn into a log and Kakashi's visible eye widen in awe.

"You are apparently!" she called from high up in the tree tops, sitting down on a branch with her legs dangling, and smirking as he looked up, "If you wanted to play hide and seek you should have just said so!"

Sakura only had to blink to find Kakashi missing from his current spot. She quickly stood up, their games of tag never ended well, truth be told Kakashi had a few years on her and an even greater amount of tricks when it came to stealth. There it was, his chakra signature had made itself known and she had only slipped out of his grasp just in time as he appeared on the tree branch that she had just been on.

Stopping only long enough to let out a sigh of relief, she quickly took off into the tree tops. There was no way she was going to lose this time, she pushed her chakra into her feet and grinned knowing that this was one game area that exceeded his own. Just as long as he wasn't going to stoop to using ninjutsu then she would fine.

"C'mon old man, what am I too fast for you?!" she called out, her eyes widening quickly as a kunai made its way toward her, she ducked nearly missing it, "What, you didn't like that comment?!"

She barely had time to stop when she saw Kakashi appear in front of her and sighed in defeat as his arm wrapped around her waist to stop her from falling forward. She looked up and smiled warily, "You win…" she mumbled, "_Old _man..." and screamed out his name followed by an onslaught of obscenities after he let go of her waist and watched her make her descent toward the ground.

-

It's been two weeks since we returned from the hot springs and would someone please tell me why I'm currently on my bedroom floor tangled up in a heap of blankets at two in the morning? Oh right, that would be because some baka is currently banging on my front door! I yell to the perpetrator outside my home that I'm coming and only when I hear his reply do I stiffen.

"_Haruno Sakura, I am ordered by the Hokage herself to bring you to the hospital immediately."_

The situation must be bad if Tsunade Shishou is dragging _me_ out of bed. What could have happened? My captor (the disheveled bedding) breaks away as I quickly run to the front door and unlock it to come face to mask (if you want to be technical) with an Anbu member, his catlike mask staring down at _me_—who might I add probably looks like hell, I can practically feel my hair shooting up at odd angles and the long blue night shirt—which I think might be Kaka's—clinging to my body is probably not the best mental image for anyone at this hour.

"_What's happened?" _I ask, trying to detect any emotion behind the mask, only to be disappointed when nothing is revealed.

"_Please hurry and get dressed."_

I quickly turn from the door and run back into my bedroom, turning on the light and shielding my eyes for a moment as the haze lifts and I quickly open the drawers to my bureau and pull on a red v-neck tank top—I really need to get new clothes—and a pair of black capri pants, as I put on my heeled sandals I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and can't help but face fault…I look like Shishou, just not as well endowed in some areas, but there's no time for that now, to the hospital!

I push open the doors to the main entrance of the building that has become my second home and keep running to the front desk where I am greeted by one of the cowering receptionists—apparently people say that I'm a second Tsunade, I personally think that they're all mad if they think that I'm like…_hey_ is that sake?

Stay on track Sakura! I mentally scream at myself…mou…I'm _so_ tired! I grab my head in vain and blink, to find no trace of the receptionist; apparently I've frightened her away? My thoughts end rather abruptly as I hear the booming voice of my Shishou echoing throughout the hospital halls, I quickly run toward the sound. When I arrive it appears that Tsunade Shishou has just gotten here as well.

"Tsunade Shishou!"

"Sakura, get to room 312 immediately your patient is in critical condition!"she bellows at me before I can even skid to a stop.

"Hai!"

For some reason her words cause my heart sink and as I take off running up the stairs to the third floor there is only one person on my mind and I pray with all my heart that I am wrong.

I rush into the room marked 312 and hear the buzzing of machines and take notice of a nurse currently trying to apply pressure to my patient's abdomen. She quickly turns her head toward the doorway to acknowledge my presence. My eyes fall on the man who has been assigned to me and I can hear my own heart beating, its pulsing vibrating in my ears as I rush toward him.

"Sakura-san what are you doing here?" questions the nurse, quickly reaching for another towel as I move in to take her place and apply pressure to the flowing wound.

"Tsunade Shishou summoned me,"I reply, and await her briefing on his condition, while making my own medical observations.

"He's in rough shape; I've been trying to stabilize him for the last half hour since his arrival. I'm amazed that he's still with us Sakura-san, the blood loss alone is so severe, other than the gash on his abdomen, and I believe that he's punctured a lung as well, but I couldn't take the chance of reducing the pressure to confirm my thoughts."

There's blood everywhere, the once white sheets are completely stained in red and the shirt from his uniform has been stripped from him. My hands are on his chest in an instant, I feel his body trembling as he begins to go into cardiac arrest.

"Sakura-san, you're exhausted you finished a twelve hour shift not long ago, please—

I can hear my patient choking from behind his doglike mask and my will to save his life is the only thing giving me the strength to perform the healing.

"You've done all you can, please leave the rest to me," I say to the nurse, even with my eyes closed I can hear her silent plea, I can feel myself growing weak in the knees, as I continue to pour my chakra into my patient's body, "Please…" I'm pleading with her now.

"Hai, Sakura-san," replies the nurse as she hesitantly walks toward the door and slowly shuts it behind her knowing that her part is done.

I place my right hand over his lungs and force a tendril of my chakra into them making them move against their will, my other hand remains over his abdomen while I focus on not only keeping his lungs moving but sealing the gash that he has endured at the same time. I move my fingers much like a puppet master pulling strings causing his lungs to function from my ministrations.

The nurse was correct in her assumption, for I can feel a rib puncturing his left lung and now I must repair the damage but sleep is trying to overtake me, I shake my head and the thoughts of sleep from my mind; I can feel sweat beginning to trickle down my temple and I'm finding myself practically leaning onto the bedside for support…

"Breathe!" I find myself pleading with him, "You're not going to die…not today!" I yell, only to feel myself growing weaker all the while and my eyelids are growing heavier.

"No…no…please no…"This has become my mantra as I watch my chakra begin to dissipate and shake my hands as if trying to stimulate the flow, however, my knees buckle, and I am forced to bow my head in defeat, gently resting my hand on his chest and cry for my chakra is depleted and I cannot feel the rise and fall of his chest; I can feel my body begin to wrack from my sobs for I managed to stop the bleeding yet I was not strong enough to keep him alive. My closed eyelids suddenly fly open when I feel a hand ruffling my pink locks.

……………

I open my right eye to confirm that Sakura is really with me and that this isn't some form of genjutsu being performed within an enemy base camp. I watch as she slowly lifts her head, her emerald eyes brimming with unshed tears as she whispers to me a name that I haven't heard in years, "Kaka-sensei…"

Her hand reaches toward me and hesitantly lifts the Anbu mask hiding my face. I can't help but give her my classic eye crease, however, my right eye suddenly widens as I feel her body crash into my own and her arms wrap tightly around my neck while she cries.

"Sakura-chan…"

I can't help but sigh for I know how reckless she can be. Sakura, you've completely depleted your chakra trying to save me, and now you barely have the strength to hold yourself up. The fatigue on her beautiful face forces me to realize how close to death I must have been and her words only force my guilt to rise for having forced it upon her.

"I thought I lost you,"she whispers and I can feel her body wracking from her sobs.

Again I sigh as my hand rests in her hair, rubbing her head in a comforting manner,

"Sakura-chan, gomen for worrying you," I apologize while rubbing the back of my head nervously—a forced habit of mine— she slowly leans back and I am forced to look into her watering emerald eyes, her arms resting loosely around my neck.

I've barely had time to let the remorse sink in when I feel her lips collide with my own, and as my right eye forms into a crease, I respond to her fervent kisses noting how much I love this woman—my _former_ student.

I slowly bring up my left hand to rest on her hip and pull her closer, feeling her respond as her right hand cups the side of my unmasked face before deepening our kiss and I know now why I'm still alive.

-

How is it that the Godaime always finds some pointless mission for me to run? Strengthen relations with the village of…what was it again? I was just getting into a really good part of Icha Icha when she must have given all of the details…I've got a scroll here somewhere. Nope another volume of Icha Icha, keep rummaging Hatake…ah, yes here it is!

…Matsuri Village…

I can't help but sweatdrop, the village of festivals? I scratch my chin in thought, and then it dons on me. Matsuri Village is known for its _sake_…it holds the largest rice fields and is the largest producer of the Godaime's liquid diet.

Yes that is how my morning began and it hasn't improved much unfortunately as I'm looking over at my team which consists of a medic and a moron in green spandex. Can you already guess which one isn't the problem? If the factor that he's practically a miniature clone of Gai wasn't bad enough, his incessant chattering with Sakura is enough to make even me drink. Plus he's seriously cutting into my reading, I've only read one page of Icha Icha, and my sighing is only going unnoticed by both members of my group as I overhear their conversation.

"Sakura-san, my beautiful cherry blossom, they say that Matsuri Village is full of fun when we arrive I shall take you wherever you like!"

Kami, isn't he hot wearing spandex? Alright so he is wearing short sleeves and shorts but I know I've seen that outfit before…Ack! I have! It's the same as when we went to Moon Country when he was 14 years old…no wonder it's so tight…must think of Icha Icha to clear horrid thoughts and must also make a mental note to confront Gai on getting Lee to a shop for some new clothes. I glance over Icha Icha to find Sakura replying…

"Arigato Lee-san, I'm sure that we'll have a great time, besides," she informs with a smirk, rivaling that of her shishou, "I've got the seal of the Hokage so we can have as much sake as we like."

…Here comes the face fault, for she's become far too much like the Godaime at times its frightening. However, as my right eye takes in her summer attire of a short black skirt, form fitting v-neck red tank top, and black heeled sandals, I can't help but think that some of Tsunade-sama's influence can't be all that bad.

"Kakashi-san what are you thinking about?"

Ack! My eye crease must have been too visible or was it the smirk showing through the mask? Play it cool Kakashi…

"Well I was thinking about what Junko was going to do to—

"Stop! Stop!" exclaimed Sakura, cutting me off in mid sentence waving her hands dangerously around, "We do not want to know!"

Aw, she's no fun at times, however, what if I were to tell her that I was really thinking about what I would like to do to her if we could just drop one green spandex clad shinobi?

I quickly place my hand in front of me in defense and all thoughts of telling Sakura have left my mind when I get a good glimpse of her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides while Gai's clone ponders away to the meaning of my words.

"Ah Kakashi-san is Junko a character who wins fair maidens like my beloved cherry blossom by showing them the meaning of youthfulness?"

I place my finger to my chin in thought and ponder the meaning of his words, "That's one way to look at it, being youthful does have a lot to do with it you could say."

I turn my right eye toward Sakura who looks mortified or pissed I can never tell in these instances, I swear the woman must have multiple personalities. Ehehe…however, I'd never tell her this, I value my life and, of course, my collect of Icha Icha far too much.

"Ah so Junko is very youthful and must keep his beloved in a state of youthfulness at all times," commented Lee, his arms crossed over his chest and nodding his head.

"…Youthfulness…blissfulness…I suppose you could call it that," I reply with a chuckle as I nervously scratch the back of my head.

"Yosh! I shall purchase one of the books today!" he exclaimed, clenching his fist, the fires of his determination reflecting in his eyes.

Alright back up…it's disturbing enough that he wears spandex but to parade around wearing green spandex _and _reading Icha Icha—although the book covers are now green so it would match his outfit—insert mental cringe—that's just wrong on so many levels...

"Junko must be an inspiration for youthfulness! I shall follow Junko's example and practice his teachings on Konoha's most beautiful blossom," he pointed toward Sakura—who might I add looked horrified—and shot her a smile that could leave her blind as my jaw nearly hit the ground in response for spandex boy has no idea what he's just implied.

-

Who knew that going on a mission with Kakashi and Genma could be so enjoyable? Sure I've been on a mission with Genma before but never with Kakashi accompanying us and was Tsunade Shishou drunk when she decided to make Genma our team captain? It's only a simple escort mission to deliver a groom to his wedding—a groom who happens to be the son of a wealthy business man—it's always something like that isn't it?

Apparently we've still got about ten miles on foot and we've been traveling since yesterday so our fearless leader has suggested that we walk; which could be due to his concern for our wellbeing or the fact that the woman in the last village nailed him when he tried to pick her up.

I had all I could do _not_ to burst out laughing; even Kakashi had a hard time keeping his emotionless expression contained behind his mask. Kami, I thought he was going to choke on his sake when Genma asked me to _heal_ his appendage after that unfortunate incident, speaking of which, I wonder how he's doing. Dare I glance in his direction…maybe just a quick glance...

……………

This is embarrassing, Genma's been walking like he's had a stick shoved up his ass for the last two miles now. I can honestly say that my sympathy for him was gone the moment he suggested that he and Sakura go into a backroom so she could _heal_ him.

Alright so me practically choking on my glass of sake at the table was probably a little obvious but I had been reading an extremely graphic part of Icha Icha and the visual of Sakura and Genma in a room…left alone…and having her hands on…alright you get the point and I feel the need for an antacid.

……………

And we've finally arrived in the next town! Shannaro! It's about time, I'm starving! And Genma's talking about women, Kakashi's talking about food, and all thoughts cease when I find a small girl crying over her small dog and a cart driver shake his head in sympathy.

……………

"So Kakashi, what do you say we try and pick up some women tonight? Since we still have a long way to go until we meet our client and all?" asked Genma, with a wink and a small nudge.

I can't help but sweatdrop as I turn to my senbon twirling companion, one would have thought that he might, dare I say it, have been deterred from this path—seeing how well his last venture went; however, I suppose he figures a new town a new conquest and I just want to find a hotel room and read Icha Icha as we continue walking into town.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Sakura doesn't mind, right Sakura,"questions Genma, blinking when he hears no reply, "…Uh…Sakura?"

We both turn to find our third party member crossing the street and heading toward a young girl who is currently crying and holding a small dog in her lap. I turn on my heel—following after Sakura has become second nature to me—Genma quickly changes direction as well as we head after the third member of our group.

……………

As I approach I can hear her sniffles while she holds the small black pup in her lap. My eyes soften with sympathy as I stop in front of her. She's just a child who looks to be no more than five, with short blonde hair and sad blue eyes, her face is tearstained and she wears a simple blue kimono.

I place my hand on top of her head and rub it gently, a gesture that Kakashi used to offer me when I was upset. She stiffens at first at my touch but soon relaxes as I slowly bring myself to sit on my knees in front of her.

"Ohayo, my name is Sakura…"

I begin, my right hand still rubbing her head in a comforting manner as her blue eyes fall on my face.

"Sakura, onee-chan…"she whispers, bringing a small hand up to wipe away her tears, "my puppy…" she tries to explain but her tears choke out her words

I sigh and shoot her my best smile, my hand resting in her blonde locks, while I take a rag from my kunai pouch and begin to dry her eyes.

"What's your puppy's name?"

"…K-Kero…" she mumbles in between sobs, "Daddy just bought him for me…and now he's…"

"May I hold him?"

Her eyes widen as I slowly take the dog from her lap and tenderly place him on my own before closing my eyes, my hands gently moving through his soft fur.

……………

I stop with Genma and observe Sakura sitting in front of a wide eyed little girl with a small dog on her lap as I watch her chakra begin to form in her hands while she continues to run her fingers through the dog's fur.

"Kero's a good name for your puppy…you and he must have a lot of fun together, ne?" she questions, her head bowed and her eyes closed.

"…He's…he's my best friend…" replies the child, her eyes large as she focuses on the dog in Sakura's lap.

"Best friends are important to have," informs Sakura.

Her voice is so calm and nurturing as a small wind appears around her lifting the ends of her hair, her green chakra now surrounding the animal. I can hear her breath hitch before slowly releasing it with a small sigh as her eyes slowly open.

……………

I slowly open my eyes to find Kero beginning to stir. His eyes slowly open and I can hear the little girl in front of me gasp as a smile makes it way to my face.

"Kero-chan!" she exclaims.

Kero jumps from my lap and onto hers, she cradles the dog while tears stream down her face and he paws at the front of her kimono while licking her face. My eyes widen and I am startled as I feel her arms wrap around my neck.

"Arigato Sakura onee-chan," she manages to cry out in gratitude in between sobs.

"Do itashimashite…"

……………

"Well I'll be damned."

Genma's comment brings me out of my thoughts while I watch Sakura being held by the grateful child and I can't help but think how she never ceases to amaze me.

My eye softens as the dog jumps in Sakura's lap and she lifts him to her face and kisses his head while he tries to playfully paw at her and my ears catch the sound of her beautiful laughter and I find myself imagining what an incredible mother she would have made had she chosen the life of a civilian instead of a shinobi. If I led a different life, then I would have considered myself extremely lucky if I could marry someone like her.

Sakura slowly stands up as the child runs down the street with her dog in her arms, before turning toward us. Genma is the first to speak, nothing new there, I'm afraid.

"Wow Sakura, that was amazing," he informed before wrapping his arm around Sakura's shoulders and giving her a squeeze, his senbon twirling in his mouth.

Kami, must he touch every woman he comes in contact with? And Sakura just smiles, damn why is that? She could lose an eye with that senbon twirling so close to her face. She should be pushing his arm off but _no_ she's actually leaning into Genma much to my dismay.

I can't help but blink, why hadn't I noticed it before, Sakura looks tired. Resurrection must take a lot out of her, Hatake, you can really be an idiot. She's not leaning into Genma on purpose and you have no reason to be jealous. _Jealous_, where did that one come from? I'd scratch my head in thought if I didn't think it would draw the attention of my two teammates.

"Arigato," replied Sakura, sending Genma a small smile.

"Say Sakura," began Genma, "if you can resurrect a dog how about a person? Can you do that?" he questioned, his interest peaked.

I watched the pained expression appear on Sakura's face, her emerald eyes downcast before whispering her reply.

"Hai."

"Really?" Genma arched an eyebrow, his senbon stopping for a moment, "Then why don't you, is it forbidden?"

She slowly shook her head in response, as I watched her lift her gaze from the ground to fall on his face.

"Not forbidden," she began, with a serious tone, "in order to resurrect the desired person, I would forfeit my life in return for their own."

It was a textbook definition, yet it caused my breath to hitch while I watched Genma's hand on her shoulder tighten in response, and I realize that I don't know what I would do if she were to die before me.

-

When did I fall in love with my perverse, porn reading, endlessly late, and user of lame excuses _former _sensei? Now there's a question that both myself and my inner self have been trying to figure out for over the last year.

Seriously, if someone had told me when I was a genin that I would grow up and be in love with Hatake Kakashi I would have scheduled them for a mental examination first thing in the morning. I mean, _me _Haruno Sakura in love with _him_…but I am and I don't think I would want it any other way.

In a lot of ways Kakashi's like Sasuke, he just has more personality and a vocabulary past _Aa _and _Hn_. Which he does use rather frequently, especially when he knows I'm right or when he says I ramble, cha! I don't ramble!

……Well not often anyways……

Naruto left the other day on a training trip with Jiraiya, he's supposed to be gone for the next six months. Mou…I miss him already, who knew? I absolutely love my best friend, who just so happens to be Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja. We haven't been Team Kakashi for a long time now, which we knew was eventually bound to happen—the likely hood of two former Anbu members and two jounin being on a team for as long as we were, I feel fortunate that we were together for so long which was impart thanks to Tsunade Shishou.

Speaking of which, Tsunade Shishou is really amazing, well when she's not drunk or ranting that is…to think that she confronted me on one of the most taboo subjects, I can still hear her voice in my head…

"_Sakura, this village is old fashioned in some regards," informed Tsunade, pouring herself a glass of sake while sitting behind her desk._

"_How do you mean, Shishou?" questioned Sakura, sitting on the side of her desk, glancing up from a mission report. _

"_I mean that the village elders really have no authority to dictate what is considered acceptable for shinobi," she continued to exclaim, taking a swig of her liquor, looking up at Sakura whose face held a puzzled expression._

"_What I mean to say Sakura-chan," her eyes softened, "is what right does anyone have to state who one can love?" _

"_Shishou…" gasped Sakura, her eyes widening as she watched her mentor smile._

"_Sakura, I may be old but I'm certainly not blind. If you love him, then that's alright with me."_

_Sakura eyes couldn't be any wider as she watched Tsunade down the glass of sake and slowly begin to pour another, "…Tsunade Shishou…who…"_

"_You don't need to play dumb with me," she commented, with a wink, pouring a second glass and handing it to her apprentice, who hesitantly took the glass, "he's a fine catch Sakura, even if he does read porn in public."_

_The alcohol in Sakura's mouth was shot from it instantaneously, followed by the onset of laughter from her amused Shishou._

Not to say that I'm going to go run out and tell everyone about Kakashi and myself, although I probably wouldn't have to if Ino got wind, she'd more than likely spread the word all on her own.

It's nice to know that Tsunade Shishou accepts us and I think that more of our friends would too, but Kakashi's really private, just getting him to open his heart to me has taken me over a year and I'm no where near fully understanding the infamous Copy Nin of Konoha. I've only scratched the surface.

Which brings me back to…

_You're rambling…_

_Shut it._

_Cha! Kakashi's right you do ramble!_

_Kuso!_

Anyways, as I was thinking before I was so rudely interrupted, I can't believe I'm in love with Kakashi. It's not like it just happened over night either; it's like one day I just looked at him and I saw him differently…ok so it wasn't so open and shut, it was more like how that topic came into play…

"_I've been thinking," informed Ino, receiving sweatdrops from Ten Ten, Hinata, and Sakura as they sat at a table in a café. _

"_That can never be good," mumbled Sakura who received affirmative nods from the other two party members._

"_Sakura, you're practically one of Konoha's best medics, so you must have a lot of patients, right?" questioned Ino, her blue eyes shimmering with mirth._

"…_Hai…" hesitantly informed Sakura, taking a sip of her drink._

"_Well," whispered Ino, leaning forward, "What kind of body does Hatake Kakashi have?"_

_Sakura spit her drink out across the table, barely missing Ino, as Hinata and Ten Ten quickly moved in to pat her back._

"_Wh-what?" choked out Sakura, glancing around and praying to Kami that no one heard the blonde's question._

"_Oh c'mon Sakura, he is one of your patients right?"_

_Ten Ten couldn't help but cough, while Hinata nervously touched her index fingers together repeatedly. _

"_Hai, he is," replied Sakura, wiping her mouth with her napkin, trying to hide the nervous blush that was creeping its way onto her face._

"_Well then, what's really under all of those baggy clothes of his?" asked Ino, with a knowing smirk, watching Sakura as she nearly fell out of her chair and would have if not assisted by her two companions, "Oh c'mon, we all know that I'm not the only one who wonders…"_

_Ten Ten couldn't help but find her drink to be the most interesting thing in the world, "Well…compared to looking at Gai sensei for the past 10 years, Sakura's pretty lucky…"_

"_H-Hai," chimed in Hinata, blushing, "a lot of women comment on Kakashi-san's looks…"_

_Sakura was gaping like a fish, Ten Ten had compared Kakashi to Gai? Hinata was in on this too? Wait a minute, lucky?! Like hell, lucky to have a porn reading, endlessly late, master of lame excuses former sensei? Were they out of their minds?_

"_Y-you find that mop of unruly silver mess that he calls hair, that irritating mask, the fact that he reads porn in public, and is so cheap he always left us with the bill former sensei of mine appealing?"_

"_I didn't ask you about his hobbies Sakura," commented Ino, giving a shrug of her shoulders, "I merely asked if he has a nice body." _

"_Ino, all I'm going to say is that Kakashi hmmm…" she put her finger to her chin in thought as if choosing her words carefully, "Kakashi is Kakashi, a slouching, porn reading shinobi and to speak any further than public knowledge is a violation of doctor patient confidentiality."_

_The three girls nearly fell over backwards at her textbook answer and all further discussion on the topic soon ended as they moved on to Genma…_

Hai, it was all Ino's fault because after that day I couldn't look at Kakashi without remembering that damn conversation, and why did he have to get hurt on a mission and refuse to come to the hospital? Kami that was embarrassing…

"_Take off your shirt…" ordered Sakura, reaching into her medical bag. _

"_Ok…"replied Kakashi, easily complying. _

_Sakura slowly turned back around, thoughts of Ino's conversation looming in her head, "No wait; you can put it back on…" she thought otherwise, trying to keep her face from turning red._

"…_Ok…" he once more complied, beginning to put his shirt back on a small sweatdrop appearing. _

"…_But I guess you did get a cut on your back," informed Sakura, trying to kill all thoughts of Kakashi and attractiveness, " so no you better take it back off…"_

"…_O…K…" he wasn't so quick to comply this time, and when she opened her mouth he quickly commented, "You're sure this time? Because although this is fun, I learned how to dress and undress myself years ago, Sakura-chan," he stated with a happy eye crease, followed by her reddening face. _

I thought I would die! And the next time I came to see him the baka wore two shirts and said it was incase I couldn't make up my mind!

_Ha! He got you good! _

_Who asked you?_

_Oh please continue your trip down memory lane, don't let me get in your way._

_Why me?_

I think the first time I realized that Kakashi was more to me then just my former sensei was after I came back from rough mission in Suna. I don't think that I'd ever seen him look at me that way before. Sure there had been his 'Cheer Up Sakura' talks and head pats during my genin days but nothing like this…

"_Yo Sakura," greeted Kakashi, standing in the doorway of her office._

"_Ohayo Kakashi," she replied, currently standing in front of her book case, searching for a report, her back to him. _

"_Have you seen Tsunade-sama?"_

"_Gomen I haven't," apologized Sakura, finding the report she needed and slowly turning around._

_He couldn't help but chuckle and rub the back of his head nervously, "I was supposed to turn in this mission report over two hours ago but this little old lady…" he trailed off the moment she turned to face him, his visible eye widening._

_She placed the report down on top of her desk with her left hand, her right arm completely bandaged from the shoulder down and the side of her face severely bruised and blinked when she heard him stop in mid lie. No sooner had she looked up to question him did she find Kakashi standing in front of her. She blinked, obviously startled for she never heard him move._

"…_Mou…Kakashi, you scared me…" she informed, a smile quickly replacing the annoyed expression on her face, "So an old lady…" she quickly trailed off, her words caught in her throat when she felt his thumb softly rubbing her bruised cheek, while his other hand gently rested on her bandaged arm._

"…_Sakura-chan…" he began, his visible eye softening as his gaze met her own, "what happened to you?"_

"_Oh this?" she asked, trying to make light of the situation, "this happened on my last mission to Suna, but don't worry you should have seen the other guy," the smile in her voice never made its way to her face, as she felt her breath hitch from the look in his eye which urged her to continue, "while on the mission, I got separated from my team…I was captured…"_

"…_Sakura, where was your team when this happened? How long? Did they…" Kakashi's voice trailed off at the thoughts of what could have happened to her after being captured by enemy nin._

_As if able to read his thoughts she shook her head, "Nothing like that happened, my team found me a few days later and really Kakashi—_

_She nearly gasped when she felt his arms wrap around her; it was so uncharacteristic of him, far beyond the head pat or shoulder squeeze, and his words made her want to cry. _

"_Sakura-chan, gomen that I wasn't there with you," he whispered, gently holding her in his embrace, " I would have never allowed for you to get hurt, I would have killed them all before I'd have allowed that."_

Kakashi's really remarkable at times, who knew? I think I knew deep down that he was more than a porn reading closet pervert, and to think that he's in love with me? Every girl's dream right there, now if I could just get him to give up Icha Icha and…

"Yo," greets Kakashi, now standing in the doorway of her living room, holding up his hand in his familiar greeting a happy eye crease visible.

"Ohayo Kakashi…"

I greet him with a smile as he takes a seat on the couch next to me and puts his arm around my shoulders before pulling out Icha Icha; I glance back over to the neglected report in my hand. Looks like my little trip down memory lane will have to wait, for now I'd much rather deal with the present anyways.

-

Konoha has been rather quiet since Sakura left. I'm currently on my way to pass in the new genin list to Tsunade-sama, and I'm only—the clock on the hallway wall catches my eye—three hours late. For me this is good time, I'm usually at least four hours behind schedule.

This year's graduates look interesting. According to Iruka they range on a great number of levels, thank Kami I don't have to invest in training another team. I can't help but smile in remembrance of the first time I met Team 7, what I wouldn't have paid to have a pair of ear plugs for Naruto's obnoxious voice, an anti-depressant for Sasuke and his "chipper" mood, and a roll of duct tape for Sakura and her incessant rambling. To think that I would later consider each one a member of my family, now that's irony.

I stop outside the door to the Hokage's office and raise my hand to knock on the door when I hear her voice and I can feel my breath hitch in the process.

"_No, Shizune I will not calm down!" exclaimed Tsunade, her fist pounding on the top of the desk as it splits from the impact._

"_I know that you're upset Tsunade-sama, we all are, but please…" began Shizune, trying to reason with her distraught Hokage. _

"_They left her Shizune," her voice cracks, filled with emotion, "they left her without a second thought…"_

"…_Tsunade-sama…" whispers Shizune, holding TonTon in her arms, bowing her head in the process at the pain stricken woman in front of her. _

"_Sakura's team abandoned her, Shizune," she hung her head, anger and remorse on her features, "they saved themselves and left her for dead…" she held her head in her hands, "they left my Sakura-chan behind…"_

_Shizune's gasp, caused Tsunade to look up toward the doorway where Hatake Kakashi now stood, their eyes met and she could feel the weight of the world on her shoulders, _

"_Shizune, leave us…"_

-

CLIFF HANGER! Next chapter starts a new saga in their timeline. Please review, and any ideas you have are always appreciated.


	6. The Life Of A Sakura

Author's Notes: We're backing up in the timeline to show the events that took place before Kakashi arrived at Tsunade's office and discovered that Sakura had been left for dead. This chapter is going to be a reflection piece for Kakashi and I hope that you won't find it too boring. The next chapter will be more interesting, promise, with much more detail and flash backs—I just wanted to get something out for you wonderful readers.

Oh and F.Y.I. the opening is my own, I didn't steal it and forget to quote the author. Random: I'm listening to Noriaki Sugiyama's album at the moment as I write this, isn't that rather twisted seeing as how this _is _a KakaSaku story? XD

-

_**The sakura is symbolic to many for it represents the **__**ephemerality of nature. In essence, their lives are so fleeting that their beauty will be forever remembered in the hearts of those whose lives it has touched. **_

_**Perhaps the sakura is a symbol of hope, a symbol of remembrance, and yet an inspiration to those who were able to savour its beauty—to realize that life surely has no end, for as it blooms once more it signifies its rebirth. **_

-

…_And with the closing of the day, another blossom falls…_

-

"_Her skills are exceptional, Hokage," informs a voice behind the closed door._

"_Hai, I trained her myself, I know of her talents," replies the calm tone of the Hokage._

"_Then please let me take her to Iwagakure…"_

_The voices cease the moment a knock is heard from the Hokage's office door. When permission has been given, the door slowly opens to reveal the woman in question, along with her comrad. _

"_Aa, Sakura__, Kakashi please come in, and shut the door behind you," Tsunade welcomes the two as she sits behind her desk, paying little attention to the man in front of her._

"_It would appear that our client has taken an interest in Sakura-chan," states the fifth, her almond eyes watching for the reaction of both members._

"_What?" questions Sakura, her eye brow raising at her shishou's statement, while her eyes wander to the man that had safely arrived in Konoha earlier that day thanks to herself and none other than the copy nin to her right._

_Their client, a tall man, with the built of Kakashi stood before them, wearing a blue kimono that resembled that of a simple merchant's, the bangs of his short brown hair cascaded down the sides of his face, and his deep blue eyes watched her with anticipation, "Hai, I'm afraid that I wasn't very upfront with the two of you earlier," he informed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he spoke._

_Kakashi's visible eye left his Hokage and fell on the man, "What have you not been upfront about Tottori-san?"_

"_Kakashi, Sakura, perhaps you should sit down…" ordered the fifth._

_-_

_Tsunade rubbed her temples, her patience wearing thin. Shortly after she had excused Tottori from her office she found herself in a new predicament—an overprotective shinobi, while her apprentice appeared to want to disappear from the room all together._

"_So you would send Sakura as the sacrifical lamb on a mission to a country that has been at odds with Konoha since the Forth Hokage's rein?" questioned Kakashi, having left his seat a long time ago, his usual stoic appearance long gone._

_Tsunade slammed her fist on the top of her desk and growled, "Hatake, how dare you second guess my judgement," she began her lecture full force, glaring daggers in his direction, as he had the audacity to stand before her with his hands in his pockets and…was he giving her a glare with his visible eye? Why that little shit! "You have no say in the matter and the only reason why I called you into my office today was as a favor to Sakura since for some reason, which is beyond me, she loves you!"_

"_Ano…" began Sakura, trying to break the ice, however, the look she received from her shishou made her blood run cold._

"_You shut up!" growled the fifth, pointing at her apprentice, and wishing for a bottle of sake to magically appear and rid her of the entire ordeal. _

"_I hardly think yelling at Sakura," commented Kakashi, the glare—Sakura had only seen when he was A. in battle or B. seriously pissed off— still visible in his eye, "is going to make matters any better."_

"_You shut up too, Hatake or so help me I can't be held responsible for my actions!" declared Tsunade the front of her desk heard cracking underneath her fist. _

"_Shishou…" mumbled Sakura, timidly standing to the side of both her senseis, their looming auras causing the tension in the air to rise, "…Kakashi…" _

_This staring contest went on for quite some time until Tsunade, being mature and wise beyond her years, started throwing her paper work at Kakashi and screaming for him to get out now while he still could. _

_-_

"_Kakashi slow down!" hollered Sakura, barely making it down the hallway before she saw his form disappear around the corner. _

_She hurried down the corridor, earlier events appearing in her mind…_

"_**I am not a **__**merchant," began Tottori, starting to sweat under the gaze of the copy nin, "the entire escort was a means for me to gather information, I'm from Iwagakure."**_

_**Kakashi's body stiffened at the name of the village hidden in the rocks. Its name held an enormous amount of painful memories for the shinobi, and he knew that the Tsuchikage had never been on good terms with Konoha since the village had a great deal of men slain by the fourth Hokage. **_

"_**I had to poise as a civilian in order to make it safely to Konohagakure. The Tsuchikage has been corresponding with the Hokage for quite some time now," informed the man, his eyes looking toward Tsunade for some confirmation to his statement. **_

_**Tsunade let out a sigh, drumming her fingers lightly on the edge of her desk as she leaned back in her chair, "What Tottori says is true. It's no secret that Iwagakure and Konoha have been at odds for quite some time now; however, with the help of Konoha, the Tsuchikage hopes that the villages might be of some assistance to one another."**_

_**Sakura, who had remained quiet throughout the entire briefing opted to speak, "What form of assistance is Iwagakure asking of Konoha?" she questioned, feeling Kakashi's gaze shift to her, for some reason it made her hesitant to ask any further questions.**_

"_**Iwagakure is low on medic nins and apparently is not as advanced as Konoha when it comes to being knowledgeable of medical techniques and treatments," remarked the blonde haired woman, "the Tsuchikage is asking that I send one of my best medics as an ambassador of Konoha in hopes of good faith. That is why I am required to send none other than Haruno Sakura."**_

"_**With all do respect Tsunade-Sama," Kakashi didn't waste a moment to make his thoughts be known, his evident slouch was long gone, "how do we know that the Tsuchikage will uphold this agreement? Konoha and Iwagakure have not been in contact with one another for years, certainly there are"—**_

_**She silenced him by holding her hand up, "Kakashi, I realize your apprehensive, however, I assure you I would not send Sakura to Iwagakure if I did not have conclusive evidence behind me," she remarked, glancing from Kakashi to her apprentice, her voice held a tone that dared for him to challenge her decision, where Sakura was concerned. **_

"_**So Haruno Sakura will be accompanying myself along with three chosen shinobi from Konoha back to Iwagakure," **__**commented Tottori with a smile.**_

_**Then of course once Tottori had been excused…all hell broke loose…**_

_She couldn't help but let out a sigh of annoyance, yes__ she knew that Kakashi was entitled to be upset about the arrangement; however, didn't he owe it to her to stop walking and listen to her view?_

_If she had something on her person—that wouldn't cause deadly harm—she would have thrown it at him in a heartbeat, just to take out her frustrations on the emotionally inept man. She could hear a great deal of cracking wood echoing throughout the hallway, Tsunade apparently had taken the disagreement quite well._

_She nearly ran into his back, having just turned the corner, as she skidded to a hault behind him. From the looks of his slouched form, her thoughts of reprimanding him flew out the window, with a sigh she leaned her for__ehead against his back and whispered, "Talk to me…" as she slowly took hold of his left arm feeling the transportation jutsu take effect._

-

_It wasn't long after that she found herself __standing outside of his apartment door; Sakura watched as Kakashi took out the key from his jounin vest and turned the knob before stepping foot in his apartment, leaving the door open behind him. _

_She sighed and quietly stepped inside, silently closing the door behind her as her gaze watched his retreating form going down the hallway to his bedroom. She took a seat on the black couch and decided it best to wait him out. _

…_That was two hours ago and she was not going to resort to reading Icha Icha while he sat in his bedroom appararently content with sulking or plainly ignoring her. Sakura wasn't a complete idiot, she knew enough from Kakashi's medical records that he had obtained the sharingan during a confrontation with nins from Iwagakure. _

_He had never spoken to her about it, but the fact remained that he visited the memorial every morning so he could hardly have been expected to take the news of her departure __well—especially since she was going to the country that held memories he wished to keep hidden._

_Slowly she stood up and taking a deep breath, all those years of meditation had seriously paid off, she walked down the hallway toward his bedroom. Stopping to knock she waited for his reply, which was no surprise to her when it didn't come, taking the knob in hand and turning it she pushed open the door and let herself into the room._

_Her eyes fell on the silver haired shinobi as he sat on his bed, his back leaning against the head board one knee propped up, with the familiar green covered novel in hand. She couldn't help but think that his excuse when it came to avoiding confrontation was always Icha Icha. _

"_Do you want to talk about it?" she questioned, watching as his eye never left the page, a small 'Hn' following. _

_Walking into the room she sat down on the bed and positioned herself next to him, bringing her legs to her chest and resting her back against the head board. Sakura couldn't help but grin as the shuriken comforter caught her eye, "You're a dork," she mumbled. _

_A silver eyebrow rose, "Excuse me?" _

"_I said, you're a dork," she informed, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, "you sleep with a shuriken comforter on your bed."_

_He made a sound that vaguely resembled a __grunt as he flipped the page in his book, "It was a gift," he simply stated. _

"_For what? Your fifth birthday?" she challenged, arching an eyebrow in return, trying to stifle a laugh at the sight of his face scrunching up under his mask, which wasn't hard to notice given their close proximity. _

"_Did you come to insult my choice of bedding, Sakura?" he asked, with a flat tone of voice, his masked face dead panning._

"_No," she murmured, "I just want to be with you," leaning up against his side and resting her head against his shoulder before closing her eyes._

_Kakashi let out a sigh, closing the green covered novel in hand as his eye fell on the pinkhaired woman to his right. _

"_Gomen."_

_Sakura hushed him, "Don't apologize for worrying about me, Kashi…" she mumbled into the crook of his neck, "just don't shut me out."_

_He could feel her warm breath trickling down his neck, he turned his head to gaze at her tranquil features before reaching up and gently brushing a few stray strands from her face. _

"_How long?" he whispered, the concern in his voice evident, a thing he very rarely showed to anyone._

"_I leave in a week," she began, slowly opening her emerald eyes to find his mixmatched eyes fixated on her, "shishou said I'm expected to be gone for a year," she watched as his expression changed, "but you and I both know Tsunade shishou wouldn't send me on this mission if she didn't feel it necessary." _

"_But Iwagakure," he interjected, the side of his thumb brushing up against her cheek in the process, "Sakura-chan…" _

_She lifted her head from his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck, gently pushing his chin down to rest on her shoulder, as her right hand tenderly rubbed the back of his head. _

"_Mou…I can't say that I'm excited to be going either, given Iwagakure's past with Konoha, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried…but I believe that everything will be alright," she whispered, hugging him closer, feeling his hands rest on the small of her back, "everything will be fine, Kakashi…it just has to be."_

-

"_**Let me train with you."**_

_Those had been his words the night before, and Sakura had gladly accepted his help; however, now it felt as though she were fighting for her life against the infamous copy nin who had been coming at her with the intent to kill—even going so far as baring the sharingan—for the last hour. _

_Sakura nearly dodged his attack as a kunai knicked her right arm, she stumbled backwards to regain her footing only to find Kakashi's leg swinging straight for her gut. She tumbled to the ground and panted heavily trying to regain her breath, her eyes widened as she realized that he had no intention of letting up and quickly rolled sideways to avoid a punch aimed for where she once lay. _

"_Sakura, your actions are far too slow, I can read your every move," he announced, not missing a beat, while throwing shuriken toward her and watching as she quickly deflected them with a kunai._

"_I'm doing the best I can," she objected, how she had made it this long she wasn't sure, and quickly side stepped one punch while trying to block another. _

"_Your best is obviously not enough," he informed, easily breaking through her defenses and making contact, he watched as she winced and her back hit the front of a nearby tree._

_She gasped in pain, her anger now apparent on her face, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" _

_Sakura barely had time to register what was happening before she found herself on the receiving end of an onsought of kunai after carelessly tripping a wire. She did her best to deflect the attack, while jumping backwards, however, one soon pierced her side as she stumbled and fell to her hands and knees. _

"_Sakura, get up," his voice was stern and left no room for argument as he stood behind her._

_The throbbing pain in her side intensified as she knelt on the forest floor, "Damn it," she stated through grit teeth, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"_

"_Get up, Sakura. Now," his voice held little to no emotion, "Get up or I'll make you stand."_

_Sakura slowly pulled herself to her feet, never had she seen him be so cruel towards her, "What's wrong with you Kakashi," she whispered, slowly turning to face him, crimson soaking through the side of her shirt, visible cuts on her arms, "Are you trying to kill me?"_

_Kakashi's visible eye widened, as it took in the form of his lover standing before him and looking broken, "Sakura…" he began, slowly moving toward her, only to watch her turn her head from him and place her hand on her wounded side. _

_Her eyes widened, slowly turning her head toward him, when she felt his hands resting on her shoulders. _

"_It's because I don't want you to die that I'm being so hard on you," he explained, gently kissing her forehead, "Don't you understand? If I can't be there…"_

_She slowly nodded her head, her eyes focused on the ground below her, before stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. _

"_I wish you could be with me too," she murmured into the fabric of his vest, feeling his arms hesitantly wrap around her. _

"_I'm a shinobi first, so this is the only thing I know of that I can do for you Sakura," informed Kakashi, resting his chin on her head. _

"_I understand," replied Sakura, "__but there is one thing you can do for me, you can love me."_

-

_The next few days seemed to go too fast for Kakashi, he had learned that Tsunade-sama had an obvious soft spot for her apprentice and in doing so had allowed for him to remain in the village until her departure. __It was that, or she was punishing him for his insubordination in her office. _

_He grinned, he had surely liked popping into her office for a quick make out session…_

"_**Mou…Kakashi, I don't think that my office is the best place"—**_

"_**Hai, you're probably right, Sakura-chan," he whispered, in between their heated kisses, his hands resting on her hips. **_

"_**Hai, I'm right," she informed, his face in her hands, and yet still their kisses intensified, feeling him pull her body closer to his.**_

"_**You're always right," he commented with a grin, his hands now wandering up and down her sides.**_

"_**Don't mock me, Kakashi," she stated breathlessly, feeling herself be guided toward the sofa behind her. **_

_**And all had been going quite well up until a knock came from her office door and shortly after the knob turned.**_

_**Shizune entered Sakura's office and blinked, TonTon let out of a bwee, "I could have sworn that Sakura would have been in her office. She must have gone out for lunch…" she remarked, before quietly shutting the door behind herself.**_

"…_**Don't laugh…" ordered Sakura, of course Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at their predicament.**_

_**Both now standing in the cramped closet of her office. Perhaps standing wasn't the best word, let's rephrase: Kakashi was leaned over Sakura due to his height, trying not to knock his head on the shelf above them, while Sakura was practically scrunched up against the wall.**_

"_**Open the door and let's get the hell out of here…" whispered Sakura, obviously in no position to do so herself.**_

_**Both of their eyes suddenly widened as they heard soft knocking coming from the other side of the door. **_

"_**Hatake, Haruno," came the voice of the fifth, "I expect to see both of you fully clothed within the next five minutes and standing in my office." **_

_**Sakura's mouth had nearly dropped open and Kakashi's visible eye drooped and it only got better, "Next time, I'd advise locking the door or putting up an out to lunch sign, that usually works for me."**_

'_A year…a year without Sakura…'_

_These were the words that kept ringing through his mind. It's not as though he had never been apart from her for so long, but that had been before he had fallen in love with her. Everything had changed now, and he certainly had never found himself in any relationship before that had lasted past a few one night flings. _

_Her leaving wasn't what was so unnerving to him, it was her destination that troubled his mind…_

_A year, in the life of a shinobi was almost that of a life time. Their lives were short lived at best, and fleeting in some respect…_

-

…_A sakura blossom falls into the pool of water beneath the bridge where Team 7 used to meet and slowly drifts down stream…_

-

_Yamanaka Ino. Best friend of Haruno Sakura and greatest rival, not to mention biggest lush ever to walk into the local pub. _

"_Mou, Ino…do we really have to spend my last night in Konoha at a bar?" questioned Sakura as she was pulled into the establishment by her blonde friend._

"_C'mon forehead, don't be such a prude," remarked Ino, surveying the area for any guys who may need two companions for the evening, "look, there's Genma and Kakashi, want to crash?" _

_Sakura's mood perked up at the thought of spending the evening with two of her favorite jounin—since Naruto was gone mind you—she didn't fail to notice that sitting at their table was Nara Shikamaru and the loud mouthed dango loving Mitarashi Anko. She also hadn't failed to notice Ino's lingering stares whenever the lazy, life's so troublesome, Nara was in the vacinity. _

_Oh well for hoping to make a quiet entrance over to their table…_

"_Shika!" exclaimed Ino, pulling Sakura right along with her, noticing said boy look up and sweatdrop at her enthusiasm._

_It was seriously a good thing that only a handful of tight lipped individuals knew about Kakashi and herself. She knew that Shikamaru would be at the top of that list, poor Genma though as he put his arm around her shoulders, still oblivious as can be. _

"_Aa, Sakura-chan," began Genma, taking another shot of sake, "I hear you're leaving us for a while."_

"_Hai," she informed, having long since gotten over Genma's come ons. _

"_Aw hell, Sakura-chan, I'm going to miss you. That's not going to leave anyone to be my medic should I get called out for duty," he contemplated, before leaning in closer and mumbling, "That leaves Ino…and I don't want to end up like Kakashi did a few months back."_

_Sakura could hardly stifle her laughter, as she received odd looks from the other members of their table. _

"_Genma, when are you going to give it a rest?" questioned Anko, slamming her empty shot glass onto the table, and scaring all party members "Sakura's obviously not interested in you."_

"_That's another one who scares the hell out of me," commented Genma out the side of his mouth, his senbon bobbing up and down in the process._

_Sadly for him, Anko had better hearing than Ino and proceeded to show Genma just how scary she could really be by means that caused several bar occupants to cringe, while a few comments were mumbled,_

"_Troublesome."_

"_Kami, Shika that woman is scary."_

"_Looks like Ino's going to have to heal you now."_

"…_Kakashi…that was just mean…"_

_The night wouldn't be complete without Green Beast number one and mini Green Beast parading in and spouting about youthfulness throughout the course of the night._

_Sakura sweatdropped as she watched Gai and Kakashi play another game of Roe Sham Boe, prior to that it had been tic tac toe extravaganza, hang man—the consensus of the table wanted to hang the two dummies—and last but not least I spy with my little eye—that game ended when Genma wanted to play, he sure was creative—see what a little alcohol can do?_

_Somewhere during the course of the night Genma had picked up a new girl, Anko had passed out at the table, a small pool of drool beneath her, Ino had gotten Shikamaru to dance, even if it was troublesome, and Lee and Gai were high on youth. _

_Sakura sighed, "Mou…to think that I'm going to miss this…I've hit an ultimate low in my life."_

_Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle, glancing down at the discarded napkins that had served for his and Gai's tic tac toe boards and hang man sheets, "Want to go home Sakura-chan?"_

"_Hai," she looked up at him with a warm smile, "Let me say goodnight to Ino and I'll meet you at the door."_

-

_Hatake Kakashi was not an affectionate man in public, but tonight__, call it the alcohol if you will, as he walked the pinkhaired young woman home he placed his arm around her shoulders._

'_I'm going to miss you, Sakura-chan,' he allowed his thoughts to be voiced within his mind, 'who will keep me company? Better yet, who will I have an intelligent conversation with for the next year? She keeps assuring me that everything will be alright while she's away, however, the idea of her being in Iwagakure of all places hardly sets my mind at ease.'_

_Un__known to him, his companion was busy with her own thoughts and her inner seriously was not helping…_

'_A year without Kakashi?! What if he finds someone else?!'_

'_Mou…Kakashi's not like that. I mean, look at him, does he look like he's the type of guy who can attract—_

'_He attracted you didn't he? Hell, even Anko and Kurenai have commented about his looks in the__ bathhouse and then there's Pig—_

'_**Not**__ helping.'_

'_Look, all I'm saying is that if we have to be gone for the next year then we should seriously be spending time doing something other than walking in silence with the man we love!'_

'_I hear you, I hear you…no need to yell…kuso! Now I'm depressed, what if he does find someone new while I'm stuck changing bed pans and vomit in Iwagakure?!'_

'_What?! We've been assigned to nursing home duty?! We'll never find a replacement now!' _

'_Oh…nevermind…__'_

_Both apparently had been thinking along the same lines as each heard their name spoken from the other's lips. Sakura couldn't help but laugh while Kakashi let out a chuckle. _

_Silence wasn't something either wanted tonight as the decision was made to go to his apartment instead of her own…_

-

_Sakura plopped down on the black sofa and let out a sigh of relief, glad to be away from the smokey atmosphere and the smell of sake, she turned to face him as he followed suit. Her expression__ changed as she regarded him and brought her legs up onto the sofa cushion. _

"_You're worried," she informed taking his face in her hands as she spoke. _

_Mismatched eyes looked at her the moment his hitai-ate had been discarded, "Old habits die hard I'm afraid," he apologized, an underlying emotion evident in his voice._

"_Please don't worry. If anything, I'm the one who should be worried," she grinned, catching the raise of his eye brow, "well you might find someone else while I'm away and then—_

_Before her mind could register what had happened his naked lips covered hers__ silencing any further thoughts, while Inner Sakura made the off handed comment that it was about damn time. _

"_Sa__kura," he breathed her name, his right hand cupping the side of her face before kissing her forehead, "I want to tell you something…"_

_She slowly opened her eyes, repositioning herself in a sitting position next to him, "You can tell me anything, Kakashi," informed Sakura, pushing back a few loose strands of silver hair from his face as she spoke. _

_Kakashi's mixmatched eyes focused on her smiling face as she smoothed out his hair with her hand, he spoke slowly, "I want to tell you about…my genin team…"_

_Her breath hitched for a moment as her eyes focused on his own, her gaze softening, "Alright."_

_-_

"_Oi Kakashi!" _

_Kakashi slowly turned, the latest volume of Icha Icha in his hand as he spotted the loud mouthed blonde making his way toward him. _

"_Yo," greeted Kakashi, holding up his hand as the blonde skidded to a stop before him. _

"_I just came from Tsunade baa-chan's office and she said that Sakura-chan is due to be coming home in a few weeks!" _

_Kakashi's visible eye widened; Naruto looked like a five year old in a candy store his excitement evident in the large grin that was plastered on his face._

'_Sakura's finally coming home.'_

"_Oi Kakashi, isn't that great?!" hollered Naruto, pumping his fist in the air for effect, "We haven't seen Sakura-chan for a year now, I can't wait to see her!"_

"_Hai, Naruto," replied Kakashi, giving him a happy eye crease for emotion, "that is good news."_

_As the blonde continued to ramble about a welcome home party and how they could finally start having their former team dinners again, he couldn't help but let his thoughts cloud his mind._

'_She's coming home…has it really been a year? Tsunade-sama made sure that I kept busy, I even rejoined ANBU in order to take my mind off of Sakura. Now in just a few weeks she'll be back in Konoha. I never knew that I could miss anyone as much as I've missed her.' _

_A smile appeared under his mask as her image entered his mind's eye. He really did love to see her smile, and realized that he couldn't wait to have her in his arms once more. How would their reunion be? He could only grin, hoping that it involved Icha Icha inspired fun…_

-

_That had been two weeks ago and Sakura was expected home any day now. Kakashi had just finished a mission with ANBU, his last for a while he hoped. Now he was on his way to the hokage's office with a mission report, which was only __due an hour and a half ago._

_Kakashi stopped, his hand on the door knob as raised voices caught his attention. _

"_No, Shizune I will not calm down!" exclaimed Tsunade, her fist pounding on the top of the desk as it splits from the impact._

"_I know that you're upset Tsunade-sama, we all are, but please…" began Shizune, trying to reason with her distraught Hokage. _

"_They left her Shizune," her voice cracks, filled with emotion, "they left her without a second thought…"_

"…_Tsunade-sama…" whispers Shizune, holding TonTon in her arms, bowing her head in the process at the pain stricken woman in front of her. _

"_Sakura's team abandoned her, Shizune," she hung her head, anger and remorse on her features, "they saved themselves and left her for dead…" she held her head in her hands, "they left my Sakura-chan behind…"_

-

Kakashi opened the door without a second thought, now standing before the fifth and watched her quickly dismiss her assistant. As Shizune hurried out of the room with TonTon in her arms he couldn't muster up the courage to speak of what he had heard.

The strongest woman in all of Konoha stood before him with tear stained cheeks, her once bright almond eyes now dim, her shoulders slumped forward as she took slow, deep, breaths.

"How much did you hear?"

At first, Kakashi had thought that she hadn't spoken, however, when his gaze fell on her he realized other wise, "What has happened to Sakura's team?" he questioned, his voice calm, as if it might break if he were too loud.

"Her team was ambushed," informed Tsunade, her voice betraying her emotions, "Sakura," she paused, her voice cracking and her hand tightening on the edge of her desk, causing the wood to creak, "Sakura…"

Kakashi realized that she couldn't do it, his gaze falling to the mission report that was being pushed forward toward him. He felt his breath hitch and his heart tighten within his chest as the details of the mission were presented to him.

"I was so stupid," whispered Tsunade as she poured herself a shot of sake and quickly chugged it down.

_MISSION REPORT: CLASSIFIED – RESEARCH TEAM SENT TO I__WAGAKURE IN HOPES OF OBTAINING NEW TREATY_

_MISSION STATUS__**FAILURE**_

_KNOWN TEAM MEMBERS: KAMIZUKI IZUMO, HARUNO SAKURA_

_OTHER MEMBERS NAMES ARE CLASSIFIED TO DATE_

_SYNOPSIS:_

WHEN THE TEAM FIRST ARRIVED IT WAS OBVIOUS HOW MUCH MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE THE PEOPLE OF IWAGAKURE LACKED. HAVING ISOLATED THEMSELVES FOR SO LONG IT WAS NO WONDER THAT THEY WOULD BE UNABLE TO COMBAT ILLNESSES AND OUTBREAKS THAT WERE BEING TREATED IN THE OTHER HIDDEN VILLAGES.

DURING THE FIRST FEW MONTHS, WITH THE AID OF HARUNO SAKURA THEIR MEDICS KNOWLEDGE INCREASED TENFOLD. HARUNO'S TEAM WITNESSED HER ABUNDANT ABILITIES, WHILE MAINTAINING THE PROTECTION OF THE MEDICAL CENTER.

SOON AFTER, KAMIZUKI IZUMO WAS SELECTED TO ACT AS A SPY IN ORDER TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON IWAGAKURE'S FINANCIAL AND MILITIA STATUS. EVEN THEN SOMETHING FELT STRANGE; HOWEVER, DUE TO THE SUCCESS RATE OF THE TEAM, ALL MEMBERS (TWO WHOSE NAMES ARE CLASSIFIED) AGREED UPON CARRYING OUT THE MISSION.

HARUNO AND KAMIZUKI COMBINED EFFORTS IN ORDER TO UNCOVER IWAGAKURE'S REAL INTENTIONS. AFTER MONTHS OF NO CONTACT FROM KONOHA, THE TEAM REALIZED THAT ITS LETTERS WERE BEING INTERCEPTED. BY THIS TIME THE TEAM REALIZED THAT SOMEONE MUST BE CORRESPONDING WITH KONOHA'S HOKAGE FOR NO ONE HAD COME TO LOOK INTO THE TEAM'S FINDINGS.

IN THE TWELFTH MONTH, KAMIZUKI AND HARUNO STUMBLED UPON KNOWLEDGE OF A REBEL GROUP THAT HAD TAKEN CONTROL OVER IWAGAKURE DURING THE SAME TIME THAT CONTACT HAD BEEN MADE WITH KONOHA REQUESTING ITS AID. THE MAN NAMED TOTTORI WAS LATER FOUND TO BE A SPY OF THE REBEL MILITIA.

REALIZING THE IMMINENT DANGER THE TEAM ABANDONED THE MISSION AND IMPLEMENTED A NEW ONE IN ORDER TO GET WORD BACK TO KONOHA'S HOKAGE. THE TEAM TRAVELED BY NIGHT BUT ITS EFFORTS WERE SOON HINDERED WHEN AN ATTACK OCCURRED.

KAMIZUKI AND HARUNO WERE SEPARATED FROM THE TEAM AS THE BATTLE BROKE OUT; KAMIZUKI'S STATEMENT IS AS FOLLOWS:

_**AN EXPLOSION RANG OUT CAUSING THE GROUP TO BE SPLIT UP. HARUNO AND I HAD BEEN IN THE BACK AND I MADE SURE NOT TO LOSE HER FOR I COULD NOT FIND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM THROUGH THE DUST AND SMOKE. WHEN I FOUND HER SHE APPEARED TO BE ALRIGHT, JUST SHAKEN FROM THE BLAST. HURRYING AND USING THE SMOKE AS OUR COVER WE HID OUR CHAKRA SIGNATURES AND TRIED TO RELOCAT**__**E THE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM. **_

_**I RECALL RUNNING ALONG SIDE OF HARUNO WHEN THE ENEMY LAUNCHED ITS ATTACK. SHE BARELY HAD TIME TO INFORM ME THAT SHE SENSED A CHAKRA SIGNATURE COMING AT US QUICKLY. BEFORE EITHER HARUNO OR MYSELF COULD REGISTER WHAT HAD HAPPENED WE FOUND OURSELVES IN AMIDST A FULL BLOWN ASSAULT OF KUNAI AND SHURIKEN; IT WAS NOW APPARENT THAT THE ENEMY WANTED TO SEPARATE US, HOWEVER, THAT WAS NOT AN OPTION AS HARUNO AND I HEADED INTO THE TREES IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH MORE VISIBILITY. **_

_**I WAS ABLE TO USE MY WATER RELEASE JUTSU WHILE HARUNO ATTACKED WITH A CHAKRA ENHANCED FIST ALTERING THE TERRAIN. DAWN WAS APPROACHING AND THE BOARDER OF IWAGAKURE WAS STILL MILES AWAY, OUR CHAKRA RESERVES WERE GROWING WEAKER AND STILL WE COULD NOT LOCATE OUR OTHER TWO MEMBERS. **_

_**THE REST IS A BLUR TO ME, IT WAS SOON AFTER THAT HARUNO WAS USING THE MYSTIC PALM TECHNIQUE IN ORDER TO USE HER CHAKRA AS A WEAPON TO WARD OFF THE ENEMY'S ATTACKS, WE WERE SERIOUSLY OUT NUMBERED, I HAD BECOME DISTRACTED AND DID NOT SEE THE APPROACHING BOMBARDMENT OF KUNAI. **_

_**I REMEMBER HARUNO'S VOICE TELLING ME TO STAY WITH HER, I BELIEVE AT THAT TIME SHE WAS TRYING TO HEAL ME AFTER ALTERING THE TERRAIN WITH HER CHAKRA. SOMEHOW SHE HAD GOTTEN ME OUT OF HARM'S WAY, BY THIS TIME I COULD SENSE HER CHAKRA WAS DANGEROUSLY LOW. I CAN RECALL OPENING MY EYES TO FIND HER SOMEHOW TRYING TO PROTECT ME, I TRIED TO PULL MYSELF UP AND MUST HAVE ALERTED AN ENEMY OF MY STATUS FOR IT WAS THEN THAT SHE SHIELDED ME FROM THE ENEMY'S ATTACK. SEVERAL KUNAI EMBEDDED THEMSELVES IN HARUNO'S BODY, I H**__**AVE NEVER FELT SO HELPLESS. **_

_**WITH THE LAST OF MY REMAINING CHAKRA I USED THE TRANSPORTATION JUTSU TO TRANSPORT HARUNO AND MYSELF AWAY FROM THE ENEMY. AT THAT TIME SHE WAS STILL CONSCIOUS AND MENTIONED THAT SHE COULDN'T HEAL HERSELF FOR SHE WAS TOO WEAK. I EXPLAINED TO HER THAT I COULD NOW SENSE OUR TEAM MEMBER'S CHAKRA SIGNATURES AND I WOULD RETURN FOR HER. **_

_**WHEN I FOUND MY TEAM MEMBERS I WAS EXHAUSTED AND INFORMED THEM OF HARUNO'S LOCATION, I MUST HAVE COLLAPSED SOON AFTER. WHEN I AWOKE I WAS AT THE BOARDER OF IWAGAKURE, WE HAD SAFELY MADE IT, HOWEVER, MY FOCUS SOON TURNED TO THE MISSING MEMBER OF OUR TEAM. I WAS LATER INFORMED THAT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE MISSION THEY HAD OPTED NOT TO RETRIEVE HARUNO. I REALIZED THAT THE HOKAGE'S APPRENTICE, NO HARUNO SAKURA HAD BEEN ABANDONED AND DIED BECAUSE I HAD PUT MY TRUST IN THE REMAINING TWO MEMBERS OF MY TEAM. **_

_CASUALTIES: HARUNO SAKURA_

-

The mission report fell from Kakashi's hands as the information rolled around in his mind.

"I'm sending for Naruto and Sai," informed the fifth, "Iwagakure is a threat and the rebel forces must be contained, I know that—

"Summon for me when it's time to depart," he interrupted, completely taking the woman by surprise.

"Kakashi this isn't a—

A sickening feeling had invaded his stomach—it wasn't a retrieval mission—as he performed the transporation jutsu without a second thought, disappearing from the Hokage's sight.

When he appeared he found himself in the only place that he wanted to be, he found himself standing in Sakura's living room.

-

Alright that's it for now, next chapter the plot thickens…


	7. It Hurts To Love

Author's Note: Alright I jotted down a bunch of sentimental moments on a piece of paper the other day and thought, _wow_ so here we go. I apologize if you need a tissue I just couldn't help myself! I can't rush the emotions that I want to portray and I'll just consider it to be a challenge to portray Kakashi's emotions.

_Important tidbit to keep in mind_: During the dance I envisioned 'I'm Your Man' by Micheal Buble, to set the mood. You should seriously hear it (it's even on You Tube if you can't find the mp3 when the time comes in the story); I still can't believe how well it fits the KakaSaku relationship. I mean it's Icha Icha inspired goodness! Does anyone remember how Kakashi was describing Icha Icha in the first episodes of Shippuuden? Mystery, Romance, And Porn with a plot people! P.S. Yes I do dance and have done choreography as a hobby

-

Kakashi found himself standing in her living room; his visible eye gazed at the contents of the room—they were all _hers_. From the plush burgundy throw resting on the tan sofa, to the disregarded medical report resting haphazardly on her coffee table, the room brought her personality to life.

Even after a year, he found that it still smelled of her, as he held the plush throw in hand, his fist tightening around the material as his eye fell on an assortment of pictures propped up on the wall shelf. He moved the layer of dust away with the side of his thumb, in the process revealing her emerald eyes shining beautifully, her face forever locked in a timeless smile as she stood next to an equally happy Naruto, both giving a V for victory after passing their jounin exam at age eighteen. The next one to catch his eye was of Sakura and her revered shishou, giving the classic thumbs up with an accompanying wink to the camera man, after having beaten Naruto and Jiraiya at the Konoha annual games.

Kakashi could now recall how Naruto had bragged for weeks about him and that perverted author of a mentor being unstoppable, that was until the hokage and her apprentice had caught wind of their plan—no one really expected the two to be such a great team.

The last picture that made his visible eye soften sadly was of their slightly dysfunctional three man family. He found his image in between a blonde with a Cheshire cat grin, and a pink haired smiling beauty—the picture had been taken over a year ago on their last three man mission. They were forever locked in front of the bridge in the land of Waves, both his team mates sitting on the railing while he leaned against it. They had even managed to deprive him of the latest volume of Icha Icha long enough for the picture to be taken.

It _hurt_. It hurt a _lot_ he realized. To see her smiling face as she sat next to him; she was so close to him, but he knew that she would now forever be out of his reach. His thumb idly traced her outline. Kami, why did he fall in love with her? _Love _always hurt.

He would never again feel her delicate hands with their intricate movements as they brushed against his skin; never again would he feel the softness of her lips against his own as she left him breathless, nor would he feel her warm breath tickling against his ear when she somehow managed to whisper all the words he had always longed to hear.

He had wanted her for so long and then somewhere along the way he had won the lottery of life and had obtained the object of his desire. When she had voiced her love for him, he surely believed that he would wake up to the sunlight pouring down on his face, informing him that all was just a dream—somewhere along the way she had learned to love him and his needs of her, for her, held no perversion.

His eye glazed over, as her image slowly faded from view with the on sought of memories that would forever plague his thoughts…

-

"_I've come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with me," confidently stated Sakura as she sat next to him under an old willow tree. _

_The copy nin looked up from his romance novel, his visible eye widening at her insight, "I don't follow you, Sakura."_

"_Well I'm not as beautiful as Ino, or as polite as Hinata, I'm not even as tactical as Ten Ten," she explained, pointing her index finger upward as she spoke, "so I suppose that's why I'm alone."_

_Kakashi blinked, he couldn't believe that he had just heard her correctly. How could she not know how desirable of a woman she was? As beautiful as Ino? She possessed a beauty that was both inside and out in his eyes; polite as Hinata? Hell, manners are overrated; he liked his women bold and assertive, and tactical as Ten Ten? Who did everyone go to whenever a strategy needed to be devised on a mission? _

"_I think that you've had far too much free time to think," he voiced, his eye meeting the crestfallen expression that appeared on her face._

"_Perhaps," she whispered, her eyes widened as she felt his hand rest on the top of her head._

"_One day Sakura, you will meet someone who loves every quality you possess," replied Kakashi, "he will love you for the woman you are, and not the woman you wish you could be. You won't need to change a thing in order for him to love you."_

_A shade of pink tinted her cheeks as she sat before him, her eyes softening at his statement, "You really believe that?"_

_He flipped the next page in his novel, his eye scanning the pages, "Hai, I believe it," her smile didn't go unnoticed by his visible eye._

_-_

_Who was banging on his door? He had managed to get back to his apartment before collapsing on his bed, purposely avoiding the sterile establishment also known as a hospital and now someone had tracked him down. _

"_Kakashi?!" he could hear her voice ring out from behind the closed door and his visible eye widened, what was she doing here at this hour?_

_He somehow managed to stand and walk to the door; he had only opened it a jar when she pushed her way inside, her medic bag slung over her shoulder as she regarded him._

"_Kakashi, why didn't you go to the hospital? Izumo called me and said that you staggered in through the gates half an hour ago looking like you were going to collapse on the spot," she chided him before closing the door and pushing him toward the couch._

_So it was Izumo who had ratted him out, next time he wouldn't go through the check in point, he'd just jump the gate entirely. He allowed her to push him to the couch and watched as she removed her bag and dropped it on the coffee table before sitting on her knees before him._

"_Where is it?" she questioned, hurrying to add, "Don't even bother telling me you're fine."_

_He sighed, complying to her request and slowly began to remove his vest, somehow managing to wince revealing his emotions in the process. His breath hitched when he felt her hands over his own, slowly unzipping the vest and gently removing it over both of his shoulders, her hands gently touching him as she leaned forward and discarded the piece of clothing._

"_Is it your chest or your back?" she questioned, placing her hand gently on his chest, the form fitting t-shirt the only thing separating her hand from his skin. _

"_It's my back," he replied, watching her from the corner of his eye as she leaned forward and gently ran her hand along his back._

"_Ok, I know that your mask is connected to your shirt so I won't make you remove it," she informed, "Just turn around so I can have access to your back, alright?"_

_He found himself easily giving into her request and shifted sideways on the couch cushion, while she sat down behind him and slowly began to lift the back of his shirt. She felt his body tense, her hands pausing in the process._

"_Trust me," her voice held a tone that was so sincere, "I just want to help you, Kakashi."_

_Kakashi found himself let out a sigh of relief, as her hands softly brushed up against his skin. How long had it been since he had let someone be so close to him? He realized that he had missed the touch of a woman, and then felt badly for thinking of his former student in such a way. _

_Even if she was a beautiful and passionate woman none the less, he shouldn't be thinking this way. However, neither his body nor mind could disregard the fact that her gentle caresses felt amazing; he could feel her chakra gently flowing into his body and the warmth that accompanied it. _

"_Whenever your hurt," began Sakura, putting her chakra into the wound, "I want you to know that you can come to me. I don't care what time of the day it is, I'll gladly be your personal medic if you hate hospitals so much as to disregard your own health."_

"_You would be my personal medic?" the question came out too quickly, he hadn't thought it through. _

_She paused in her healing for a moment and then a smile appeared on her face, "Hai, I will always be your medic if that is what you want, Kakashi."_

_That night a blush had somehow made its way to the face of the revered copy nin, while a talented medic nin finished healing his wound. _

_-_

_Kami, I want her back. _

It hadn't really sunk in yet as Kakashi sat down on the edge of her bed, now gazing around her bedroom. One of the most familiar rooms in her apartment; he felt so close to her at this moment, surrounded by her belongings, he found his gaze resting on the open door—any minute now she would walk through the doorway and ask him what he was doing.

…Any minute now…

-

"_Yo."_

_Sakura nearly jumped as she caught his form in her vanity mirror, he was currently standing in her bedroom doorway. _

"_You could knock you know," she grumbled, quickly tightening her hitai-ate and giving herself another glance in the mirror._

"_You really don't need to try so hard," Kakashi regarded her with a happy eye crease, when he saw her mouth open, "I always like the way you look, especially when you blush," he couldn't help but grin from behind his mask, "like right now."_

_Sakura let out a sigh, they had only been dating for a week and already he was finding ways to annoy her. A smile appeared on her face as her eyes softened, she wouldn't have it any other way though. _

"_Alright let's go, Tsunade Shishou said that if we were late for the briefing then she would personally come and hunt us down," she informed heading for the door way._

_Her attempts were halted when she felt his hand reach out and take hold of her arm, pulling her into his embrace. She had no idea that the man who practically screamed for his personal space could be so tender. She smiled, closing her eyes feeling his masked lips on her forehead._

_She could feel the rise and fall of his chest, her hand resting gently on it as she glanced up at him, a smile appearing on her face, and her eyes softening. _

"_Kakashi…I don't think you know what Tsunade Shishou is capable of."_

"_We won't be late, Sakura," he informed, slowly lowering lips toward her own, his arm around her waist, "I just wanted to see you before we left, is that alright?"_

_She nodded her head in reply and let her eyes drift shut, she felt his masked lips on her own momentarily and returned the chaste kiss. He was so gentle with her, treating her like a porcelain doll that would break, or a dream that would shatter and disappear from view if he used too much force._

"_Will you ever show me?" _

"_Hmm?"_

"_Your face. Will you ever show it to me?" _

_She almost regretted the question when she felt his body stiffen in response. Sakura already loved the man, regardless of his face, she would still love him. She opened her mouth to apologize but his words came first._

"_It's been a long time," began Kakashi, "since someone has seen my face," he watched her eyes and brought his hand to caress her cheek._

"_If you're not comfortable you—_

_His finger to her lips silenced any further comments, as he continued to regard her face, his gaze locked with her own._

"_I'm comfortable with you, Sakura," he admitted, "I just hope you won't be too upset when you see my face," he couldn't help but chuckle, but it stopped rather abruptly when she took his face in her hands._

"_I would never be upset to see your face," she whispered, leaning forward and lightly kissing his masked lips, feeling his arm around her tighten, "Never. If you trust me…"_

_His right eye closed, feeling her fingers brush against the edge of his mask, "I trust you," he whispered, slowly feeling the fabric lower from his face. Only when it pooled around his neck did he allow his eye to open. _

_Sakura stood before him, her eyes soft, "Hello," she greeted, a smile playing on her lips, "it's nice to finally meet the __**real**__ Hatake Kakashi. Who knew that he would be so handsome?"_

_He couldn't help but smirk, and her smile grew because she could actually see it. His face wasn't flawed in the least, in her opinion he looked so much younger, and the smirk only made him cuter. _

"_Naruto would be so upset to know that you don't have fish lips or horse teeth," she informed with a grin, watching him face fault at her statement. She could help but laugh before kissing his uncovered lips and smiling into the kiss when he responded._

"_Fish lips and horse teeth? Kami, you kids had overactive imaginations," he commented on their way out the door. _

_-_

_He wanted this, he wanted her, and he knew that after they had made love that there would be no going back, he would be devoted to her like a dog was to its master. He carried her to the bedroom and slowly began to lower her form to the bed in between their passionate kisses._

"_Sakura…" he breathed her name, "to me this isn't a one time deal, to me your—_

"_I understand," she breathlessly informed him, his face in her hands, "and I feel the same."_

_She was everything that he had ever wanted in a woman and he found that his heart would, __**no**__, could never stray. He had never met a woman as passionate as Sakura; she made Jiraiya's works inferior to the emotions that she produced within him that evening. _

_Hatake Kakashi had never been in love before, but he would like to think that what he felt for Haruno Sakura that night was nothing short of love; he had a feeling that love entailed staking a claim in a sense to the object of your affection. He certainly could not allow for another man to ever be intimate with her, not when his mind and body had already declared her his own. _

_Unlike so many times before, where he had left with the rising of the sun after a one night stand, he awoke to the sight of a beautiful pink haired woman, asleep with her head resting comfortably on the pillow beside his own. He gently pushed a few stray pieces of her hair behind her ear, watching a smile appear on her lips in the process and wished this moment would never end. _

_-_

Kakashi's hand tightened grasping the fabric of the comforter on her bed, his heart constricting painfully within his chest. It was different this time, far different than how he had felt when he lost his genin team—the guilt was missing. Now it felt as though someone were suffocating him, forcing him to relive every fleeting moment with the incredible woman who had committed herself to him.

He brought his hand to his chest, wishing to ease the pain as he began to wonder what her last thoughts must have been. Was she frightened? _No, _he didn't want to think of her suffering at the hands of Iwagakure filth. He couldn't bring himself to agonize over the means of her death.

His jaw tightened, he would make them pay…yet he knew that revenge could not bring her back to his arms…perhaps it would only help to lessen the overwhelming pain he currently felt.

Kakashi had decided that he could not hold Izumo responsible for the loss of his beautiful _hana_. Sakura had spoken highly of Izumo in the past, stating that she loved his sense of humor and he had a great way of hiding her shishou's sake beneath piles of paper work, or labeling cabinet drawers with the words _Important Paper Work _where he knew the hokage wouldn't touch it for weeks.

He almost hated himself now for teaching the thirteen year old version of Haruno Sakura the rule of team work and never leaving a teammate behind. He shook his head and realized that even so, her heart was far too kind and she would have protected Izumo no matter what—he should be proud of his lover, she had allowed herself to never again watch the backs of her teammates.

-

"_Kakashi," her voice was hoarse as she crawled to his side, she could still hear the sounds of battle off in the distance. _

_Sakura reached Kakashi's slumped form, leaning against a tree, panting slightly from overexerting the sharingan. He could make out the sounds of Naruto and Sai finishing off their opponents, as Sakura came into view, his vision blurring._

"_Kakashi," she regarded him, checking for any injuries in the process only to determine that the sharingan had drained him once more, "try not to overuse the sharingan," she chided, "you know what the long term effects are. You'll eventually go blind in your left eye."_

_He let out a sigh, feeling the palm of her right hand over his eye, feeling tendrils of her chakra being forced into the socket in hopes of alleviating some of the existing pain in hopes of slowing the development of his loss of vision. _

"_As your personal medic," informed Sakura, reconnecting some of the nerve endings in the procedure, "I will do everything in my power to slow down the effects of the sharingan."_

_Kakashi couldn't help but smile, as Naruto and Sai returned both expressing their concerns for him; he merely gave them a happy eye crease and stated, "Sakura's got everything under control, no need to worry."_

_And it was the truth. When she was with him on the battle field he knew that he would live to see another day, her medical skills were second best to the hokage. Even at the age of thirteen when they had been attacked by enemy nin in Moon Country, he knew that she would reverse the effects of his arm when it had been turned to stone. His faith in her since then had never dwindled. _

_-_

_Sakura's personality was wide, her moods were amazing even to the copy nin. She had her highs and her lows and then she would come right out and surprise him—like now as they stood in her living room._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_I said, dance with me."_

"_I don't dance."_

"_You don't dance?" _

"_No."_

_This had been the atmosphere for the last few minutes now. It had all started when he walked in on Sakura who at the time had been dancing around her apartment and he had made the off handed comment that she was a rather cute sight to see. Alright, so back up for just a moment, and insert her scream after he had startled her, and a book flying in his direction—now we're up to speed. _

"_So let me get this straight," she informed, her arms crossed in front of her chest, a pink eyebrow raised, "you don't dance or you can't dance?"_

"_I never said I couldn't dance," he replied, not caring to elaborate, leaning up against the wall before her._

"_So you can dance but you choose not to," she voiced her findings and watched him smirk from behind his mask. _

"_See you are smart," he couldn't help but chuckle at her face fault and then watched her as she began to move closer to him._

"_You know, there's no one here to watch," she added in a sultry voice, a smile playing on her lips, "are you trying to tell me that even though you read Icha Icha your personality has not been altered in the least?"_

_He arched an eyebrow wondering what she could be getting at and soon sweatdropped at her deduction. _

"_So you're a dull old man who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to dance with the woman he loved?" she questioned, hiding the smirk that dared to appear on her face, while her outer cackled evilly. _

_Sakura gave a shrug and headed toward spot where her book had fallen, finding it odd that the man practically jumped and uncharacteristically screamed like a school girl in public if it involved the smutty novel in any way and yet he couldn't dance with her?_

_She bent down to pick up the book and upon straightening heard music coming from the speakers of her radio. She slowly turned to regard him, finding that he had taken off his jounin vest and gloves, even going so far as to remove his hitai-ate and mask. _

_Arching an eyebrow once more, she placed the book on the coffee table and watched as he extended his hand to her, with a sideways nod of his head instructing her to come to him. _

_She took his hand and blushed when she felt the front of her body make contact with his, as he pulled her close. His right hand in her left, his left hand resting on her right hip, while her right hand took its place on his left shoulder. _

_One step forward and two steps back became their rhythmic pattern, his mismatched eyes locked with her emerald orbs as they regarded one another._

_She could feel the intensity of his gaze as they swayed in time with the music, his left hand moving to the small of her back, while she turned her head to the side resting the right side of her face against his left, feeling him inhale her essence, her hand tightening in his own at the intimate gesture._

_Sakura could feel his hand making circles on her back, the motion causing pleasant shivers down her spine, he tilted his head down, his warm breath trickling down her neck, and just as briefly as she had felt it, he spun her around—the music changing its beat— now holding her out at arms length. Kakashi's eyes never left her face, the only contact between them remaining was his right hand holding her left. _

_He quickly pulled her back into his embrace, Sakura's back against the front of his body, his right arm now crossed in front of her shoulders, while her left hand still seized his; she could feel his naked lips kiss her shoulder as a smile graced her features, while turning her head to catch the mismatched gaze and the accompanying smirk—their bodies now swaying rhythmically in time with the remainder of the first chorus of the song. _

_Kakashi gently turned her around to face him, their joined hands never parting in the process as she placed her right hand on his chest, his left hand resuming its place on her hip._

_Three steps forward, one step to each side, three steps back in a never-ending pattern as the song resumed its normal tempo. _

_His gaze locked with her own as they played their continuous game of cat and mouse, the passionate tension in the air surrounding them; her thumb nonchalantly moving against his chest, while the hand on her hip lazily wandered along the side of her body. _

_The climax of the song approaching as she grinned before playfully sliding his left hand away from her body in slow lucid movements, covering the hand with her own, a smirk appearing on his face while he turned her out and away from him in a spin, their connecting hands dropping briefly. _

_Sakura teasingly walked away from Kakashi, her hips swaying with her steps, slowly turning her head to regard him as the second chorus began. She sent him a wink as if waiting to see what his reaction would be, he stood for a moment as if contemplating his options and then in lightning movements he had reclaimed her as his own, a gasp escaping from her lips, his left arm encircling her waist as he held her close, his right hand on the back of her head as he slowly bent her back against his arm._

"_Your so beautiful," he whispered, his lips running along her neck, a mischievous gleam in his mismatched eyes which did not go undetected by his captured prey, "how could I possibly resist you when you use Icha Icha against me?"_

_Sakura couldn't help but blush (so he had figured it out), reaching up with her right hand and placing it on the side of his face, her left resting on his shoulder for support as she watched him, "I was hoping you would feel that way," she whispered, his lips crushing her own instantaneously, her back softly finding the pillow on the couch behind her as the song concluded…_

-

A sound returned him to the present and for a moment he half expected it to be Sakura, walking in through the front door after her shift at the hospital; then his heart reminded him that this was not the case.

"Kakashi," rang out a familiar voice as he looked up, his visible eye widening.

"Pakkun?"

-

"Is the sake going to really bring her back?"

Tsunade looked up from the sake that she had been pouring into a glass to glare at her unwanted guest, "Shut it, Jiraiya. I'm not in the mood for you today."

Jiraiya sighed and took a seat on the edge of her desk. Her eyes widened when she saw a glass being held out to her, and she slowly poured the sake into his glass. He brought the glass to his lips and quickly downed it before returning it to the desk.

"It's my fault, you know," whispered the crestfallen hokage, "I should have known something like this could happen."

"Tsunade, you couldn't possibly have foreseen this, you sent Sakura," he watched as she winced at her apprentice's name, "with a team consisting of two under cover ANBU agents."

"Hai, I did," bitterly replied Tsunade, "and they left her to die. They probably would have done the same with Izumo but he was already there, so they sacrificed _my _Sakura-chan in the process."

Jiraiya understood how she felt, he would feel the same way if it had been Naruto, his breath caught and she must have read his mind.

"Hai, Naruto knows," she began, deep regret in her voice, "he was in denial at first, he even went so far as getting thrown out of the hospital for questioning Izumo. I've placed him on a four man team, one member still needs to be contacted, the known two are Sai and Kakashi."

"Kakashi," he glanced at her and knew that she apparently realized that the _hana_ and the _copy nin_ were a couple, before letting out a sigh, "this is going to kill him you know. You're aware of his past, Tsunade."

"It's not easy to lose someone you love, Jiraiya. We both know this all too well," she explained, "I would go myself if I could," her voice was laced with malice, "_Sakura _was very precious to me; therefore, I'm allowing her remaining precious people to be the ones to contain the rebel group."

"I'm assuming the rules of engagement are take no prisoners?" questioned Jiraiya, arching his eye brow.

"You guessed correctly."

"Tsunade," his voice was sincere with understanding as he slowly took the bottle and glass from her hands, "you don't always have to be so strong around me. I would still find you to be a temperamental, piss poor gambling, lush," he paused as he saw tears running down her cheeks, "but to me, you'll always be beautiful."

-

"Pakkun?" his voice rose as he saw his loyal pug standing before him, panting to catch his breath.

"Kakashi," he wheezed, "I finally found you," he watched his master as he sat before him on the edge of the bed, he could see the gears turning and cut him off at the pass, "Hai, Sakura summoned me…"

-

_Something's happened to Izumo. _

_Sakura had waited for half an hour, it had been too long. Her thoughts were that her team had been captured or worse. _

"_Please kami," she whispered, "please may I have enough chakra," she choked, resting on her side, the front of her body impaled by kunai. She winced, taking a deep breath as she brought her hands up in front of her and began performing the seals, her blood was already seeping into the ground around her, "Kuchiyose no jutsu," she murmured, placing her palm on the ground before her. _

_A weak smile appeared on her face when she felt a warm furry head beneath her palm. Pakkun immediately took in the sight, "Sakura!?" he cried, placing his paws on her arm in concern._

"_Pakkun," she whispered weakly, "we're in Iwagakure," she began, knowing that there wasn't much time, "I need you to go back to Konoha," her debriefing was interrupted as she began to cough, her body beginning to twitch involuntarily. _

_Pakkun's eyes were wide, trying to absorb how this could be happening to the only female who had ever been able to summon him, "Sakura, we'll go back to Konoha together, where's your team?" he questioned, beginning to sniff the air, his ears perked, he could sense the enemy they were closing in._

"_Izumo," she tried, "left, he didn't come back so something's happened," her voice was so strained, she could barely focus on what she was saying. Her eyes were beginning to glaze over, "Pakkun?" for a moment she had to question if he was really there._

"_Hai, I'm here Sakura," replied the pug, pushing her hair away from her face with his paw and realizing how cold she was, "I'll—_

"_You'll go back to Konoha," whispered the medic nin, "and you'll tell Tsunade-shishou," her breathing was becoming labored, "it was a set up, you'll take my pouch," she weakly took the small kunai pouch from her hip and limply let her hand fall on Pakkun's back, focusing her attention on the task, clipping it around his neck, "within my pouch is a scroll, give it to Tsunade…"_

_The blood was continuing to seep through her clothing and tainted the ground, Pakkun couldn't believe that she was still with him, he could barely smell her chakra; he realized that she had summoned him on sheer will. _

"_Sakura," he tried to sound reassuring, "you'll be fine. We'll go back to Konoha together and—_

"_Pakkun," she whispered, her eyes full of understanding, "you're a terrible liar," a weak smile graced her features, "just like Kakashi…" _

_The pug's brown eyes softened, they would be on her in minutes and he knew there would be nothing he could do for her. How would his master deal with this knowledge, what would he say to him? He felt her hand gently rub his head._

"_Tell Kakashi," she struggled, tears streaming down her face, "tell him…" _

_Pakkun wanted to beg her to stop, he wanted to voice that she would tell Kakashi all the things she wanted to, but knew other wise, so he moved closer to her, sitting down in front of the dying kunoichi with the beautiful emerald eyes who had stolen his master's heart, fully understanding why—her ability to love was truly remarkable._

"_Tell him, arigato," her statement was so sincere to his ears, "arigato for being my former sensei," she struggled to form her words, her will allowing her to remain with him, "for trusting me, and…" an onset of coughs racked her small form, "most of all…for loving me."_

_The small nin dog nodded his head, "I'll tell him all of it Sakura-chan," her movements were becoming slower now, her hand lingering on his head._

"_And Pakkun…"_

"_Hai?" he had to strain his ears to hear her reply._

"_Arigato for allowing me to summon you," the warm smile on her face had made it to her eyes, "Arigato," she repeated. _

_He had never been an affectionate dog, he had never had to be around Kakashi; however, he moved closer to her and buried his head in her neck and nodded. _

"_See you around," she murmured her eyes beginning to close, "Pakkun."_

_Pakkun stepped away from the woman and sadly regarded her before running toward his destination. He knew damn well her team had left her, it angered him, and even dead he would have been able to detect them. _

-

"She said _arigato_?" his master's voice seemed to be detached, like it might break at any moment.

"Hai," replied the pug, sitting before his master with his head bowed, "I caught your scent on my way to the hokage's tower. I've got to give her the scroll that Sakura-chan entrusted to me," he tried to catch his master's eye.

The dog wasn't stupid he realized that his master having to hear how his lover died was enough to throw anyone into emotional turmoil, but the fact that the town not only believed Sakura to be dead only gave him further proof that her team had left her, and if he was going to honor her memory in any way then he would need his master's help.

-

"Hey watch it!" yelled the blonde kunoichi as she was practically run over on the street by Naruto. Her eye twitched when she got no response from him, "Naruto, you could at least apologize!"

He turned to regard her with a disconsolate face, his blue eyes dull, catching Ino completely off guard. She debated for a moment and then finally gave in.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" she questioned, when she got no response she decided to keep prodding, "C'mon, if I didn't make sure that you were alright, and Sakura found out then I'd never hear the end of it."

Naruto winced at the name of his first love, "She won't," he replied, feeling emotionally drained.

"No, you don't know Sakura like I do," informed Ino, pointing her index finger at him, "she'll find out from someone when she comes back—

Her eyes widened at his statement…

He clenched his fists at his sides, the dams threatening to burst as his eyes watered, "Sakura-chan, isn't coming back, Ino," he whispered, "Sakura-chan died in Iwagakure, Tsunade confirmed it earlier."

Ino couldn't believe what she was hearing as tears ran down her cheeks, "No," she shook her head in denial, "don't mess with me like that Naruto," she tried to chuckle but it wasn't very convincing, "Sakura couldn't be dead, she's coming home in a few days."

Naruto shook his head, dragging his arm across his eyes to wipe the tears away, "I want Sakura-chan back."

-

"I see."

"Tsunade-sama would like to know if you'll be the fourth member of their team," informed Shizune as she stood before the shinobi, who was seated at a booth in the local pub, "I know Sakura-chan meant something to you, even though you're a complete womanizer."

He twirled his senbon in his mouth, his drink had become the most interesting thing in the place, "Hai, she did," he sighed before turning his attention to the hokage's assistant, "When do we leave?"

-

"Kakashi?" the pug was now on the bed sitting next to his master, "I know you loved Sakura," he stood on his masters lap, "look at me!"

He almost wished Kakashi hadn't for his eye conveyed his heartache, "You have to know that when I was summoned, Sakura-chan wasn't in any pain. She was able to summon me on sheer will, Kakashi. I realized that she had been alone for quite some time and that her body had already begun to shut down. That heart that you always admired, that was the only thing left of her by then. Do you understand? In order to honor her memory we must get this scroll to Tsunade-sama."

"Hai," replied Kakashi, slowly standing as the pug jumped to the floor, "I understand."

_I understand that I will kill them all._

-

"I see," sadly informed the hokage as she sat behind her desk reading the last remaining script of her apprentice, "Sakura-chan, was far too smart," she set the scroll aside and spoke to her captive audience consisting of Jiraiya and Team Kakashi, "she realized that when her medical skills were being observed that their motives were flawed, deducting that Iwagakure did not want techniques to save lives but techniques that ended them. Sakura made the decision to not teach their medics anything past the basics, while meeting with Izumo in private on a nightly basis to compare their findings."

Naruto smiled weakly, "Sakura-chan," he looked down at the pug to his left, "she summoned Pakkun in order to get word to Konoha."

Sai for once decided to voice his opinion, "Because she felt that her team had been killed, when in reality they left her."

Kakashi stood there silently absorbing the conversation, and awaiting the mission details, when a knock came from the door.

"The last member of this four men team has arrived," informed Tsunade, "Come in."

The members of Team Kakashi watched as the senbon wielding shinobi walked into the room, "I don't know about any of you, but I'm itching to go to Iwagakure on Sakura's behalf."

The four man team listened carefully as Tsunade gave them their mission verbally, the village elders would not catch wind of this mission and there would be no evidence that it had ever occurred. Only the occupants of this room would know what this mission was truly about.

-

With the rising of the sun, the four man team was seen departing from the gates of Konoha heading in the direction that would take them to Iwagakure; no words were said, yet no words were needed, for the one thing they shared were their thoughts.

_An eye for an eye._

-

Go, Run, Review! I'm off to work on chapter 8 now.


	8. Realizations And Reflections

Author's Note: I'm on a roll now! I've had these scenes in my mind for the last few months and now I finally get to type them out. I hope that you won't be disappointed.

-

Kakashi peered through the leaves of a tree; he could smell the smoke from the blazing fire below, while perching on a branch awaiting the return of his ninken. Some distance from him he knew that the other three members of his team were anticipating his orders once he had received word from Pakkun on how many rebel soldiers were below.

The clouds were slowly beginning to darken overhead and soon night would fall, giving them the element of surprise. He could smell the anticipated rain in the air, knowing that it would be much tougher a battle once the field had become wet; however, their orders had been clear—take no prisoners—and with the psyche of his team, there would be no need for discretion.

It had taken the team a week to reach the border of Iwagakure once they had departed from Konoha, and had managed to use the cloak of darkness to their advantage as they entered the hidden village of the rocks undetected the night prior to. They had begun their observations immediately upon their detection of the camp and now when their enemy's numbers had been confirmed and their plan of action established Iwagakure would realize its error.

-

_Lightning streaked across the sky and with it the sky opened above them with a rumble; the waters crashing down from the heavens onto the land that would become the burial ground to many unsuspecting men. _

_Through the flash of lightning a small brown pug could be seen making its way back to his master, and as their tactics were confirmed, the four man team felt no remorse for the actions that would soon follow._

-

The signal was given as Kakashi leapt from his perch, using his stealth and renowned speed as his weapon to infiltrate the perimeter quickly, a kunai in hand; he made fast work of the unsuspecting shinobi, going so far as to keep the jounin level guards cries from being heard as they were overpowered by the thundering in the sky.

Naruto and Sai had advanced from the opposite direction to infiltrate the second wall of the base with an onset of kunai and shuriken once they had been given the signal that their leader had secured the perimeter, while Genma set to work strategically planting kunai with explosive tags at the focal points of the enemy's stronghold—even with the rain it would be enough to ensure their defensive state.

The element of surprise was theirs as the team continued to infiltrate the enemy base of more than a hundred rebel soldiers. The explosive tags were detonated as Naruto and Sai leapt backwards to regard the outer circle which was now ablaze, shielding their eyes from the smoke and the smell of burning flesh around them, as the inner walls shinobi appeared to defend the crumbling fortress.

"More coming your way," Kakashi's voice rang out over their wireless communicators.

"Roger that Kakashi," informed Naruto, "Sai and I will take care of the first line of defense in the inner wall, and allow Genma to take out the base from the inside."

"I'll be in and out before they know what hit them," came Genma's cocky remark in response.

-

Shuriken and kunai pierced the bodies of their medic nins as Genma penetrated the inner most wall and quickly set to work destroying any information that Iwagakure had gained access to on Konoha or of its medical knowledge.

He lit their medical folders on fire and began to watch the papers crumple and turn to ash when he felt an enemy approaching and quickly turned around impaling the enemy nin with the kunai in hand.

Genma winced as the kunai lodged into the female medic nin's rib cage and he pushed up, "Sorry lady," he stated through grit teeth, taking in her features before removing the kunai from her lifeless body, "but I don't think your soldiers hesitated when they ran Sakura through."

-

"Genma's in," Sai's voice rang out on their wireless communicators, "But we've got a problem, there's far more jounin level shinobi then anticipated."

"We'll wait until Genma gives the signal for detonation," commanded Kakashi, "Until then do the best you can to push them back."

"Don't worry about it, Kakashi," Naruto's confident voice came through, with the clash of kunai, "We won't give up, we're fighting for Sakura-chan!"

-

"Genma do you copy?" questioned Kakashi, metal clanging in the background, causing the wireless communicator to hiss.

"Hai, I copy," replied Genma, quickly searching through the enemy's logs for any evidence pertaining to their real motives, "I'll be moving onto the last phase as soon as I finish searching through their logs."

"Roger that," stated Kakashi, "Naruto and Sai have met up with more men than anticipated; I'm going to relieve them as soon as I take out the surrounding boarder."

"Understood, there's one more tent in the inner wall that I haven't checked," informed Genma, setting the final detonation device, "I'll give the signal, as soon as I'm finished."

He quickly moved from the tent, taking out the guard by slitting his throat with a kunai from behind. Using the transportation jutsu he shimmered in and out, impaling his victims with shuriken in the process.

"This last tent is heavily guarded," stated Genma, hiding behind a wall of weaponry, "If they're hiding anything it's in there."

"Find what you can and don't let anyone escape, understood?" Kakashi's order was interrupted by crackling indicating that he was becoming too far out of range.

"Understood," whispered Genma, watching as another explosive tag was triggered and the handful of remaining guards were distracted long enough for him to get the upper hand.

-

"I've lost contact with Genma. Naruto, Sai, try to reach him," instructed Kakashi's voice.

"Roger that," replied Sai, quickly taking down another enemy nin.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" rang out Naruto's voice, "We'll find Genma, Kakashi you join us when you can."

-

Kakashi considered his opponents with the sharingan and responded, "Hai," before creating a series of seals and capturing the rebel shinobi in a genjutsu, the three tamoes of his sharingan spinning as lightning stretched across the sky.

-

Genma twirled his senbon as the last shinobi slumped against his arm; he pushed the lifeless shinobi away and watched as he fell to the ground in a heap before gaining access to the final tent within the enemy base.

He scanned his surroundings, taking in the medical beds, weaponry in the corners of the make shift hospital, discarded reports scattered across the table tops, which upon further investigation revealed ample information on each of the hidden villages and their current militia and medical expertise.

"Bingo," whispered Genma, quickly scanning through the pages and ripping out a handful containing their findings on Konoha, quickly rolling them up and pocketing them in his kunai pouch for safe keeping.

A small sound coming from behind the connecting flap of the tent caught his attention. Ever so slowly he placed a kunai in hand and started for the connecting room. Twirling his senbon in his mouth…

'_Missed one did I?' _

He grabbed the flap and quickly pulled it to the side, the kunai stopping inches from his discovery.

"…No, it can't be…"

The kunai slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a small thud…

-

"_See you around," she murmured, her eyes beginning to close, "Pakkun."_

_Those were the last words spoken by the astounding medic nin of Konoha as her heart stopped, her body still and lying in the dirt under a fur tree in the forest only miles from the border of Iwagakure when the rebel army found her._

"_It's the Konoha medic, sir," informed a young male soldier, sitting on one knee before the dead medic nin. _

"_How long has she been dead?" questioned the squad leader, standing with his back to his subordinate._

"_Less than half an hour," commented the soldier, before standing up and brushing himself off, "It would appear that she got separated from her team."_

"_She was very useful to our ambitions," contemplated the man, his arms crossed in front of him, "Bring her back."_

_The soldier's eyes widened as he regarded his captain, "Excuse me?"_

"_I said, bring her back. Do I falter when I speak soldier?"_

"_N-no, sir…it's just that, in order to…"_

_The captain wasted no time picking up where the man had trailed off, "Your family specializes in the life restoration jutsu does it not?"_

"_Hai sir, it does," replied the man, looking down at the dead medic at his feet and then back to his captain, "But sir in order for me to perform that jutsu I would—_

"_Hai, you would die."_

_The boy's eyes locked with his captain's which held no sign of emotion, "Do you have a problem with that soldier? Was it not you who said that you would give your life for the good of Iwagakure?" _

"_I did say that sir, but seriously, this medic can't be that important," the young man was now trying to reason with his squad leader, "Sir, she's just a young woman, she couldn't possibly…"_

_The captain gave a nod of his head, as two accompanying soldiers took hold of the man's arms and made him sit before the pink haired woman who lay motionless on the ground._

"_You give your life for the greater good, my boy," he informed, starting to walk away, "what we will learn by studying her will give us all the knowledge we need."_

-

"Oh Kami," Genma murmured, as he fell to his knees in front of the secret that the room had hidden.

There before him was a hospital bed with various machines scattered throughout the room, an experimentation room of sorts from the appearance, but none of these mattered, as he slowly reached out his hand in front of him, and ran his hand along her cheek.

"Sakura," he whispered, staring into her glazed over emerald eyes, "c'mon beautiful."

His eyes left her face as he began unhooking the many IV's that penetrated her veins, noting the chakra burns running down her arms, and slowly removed the chakra blockers from her hands, before taking in her features, noticing her shallow breathing and her tear stained cheeks.

"…Please…stop…" her voice was raw, the rise and fall of her chest slow, as if the very task of breathing required too much strength that he body could not comply with at this time.

'_Those fucking bastards, what in Kami's name have they been doing to her? '_

"I'm going to get you out of here, don't you worry," he explained, slowly placing his arm around the back of her shoulders, "We'll find the others and get the hell out of Iwagakure and get you to a doctor," before reaching under her knees and picking her up.

She let out a gasp in pain as he gently cradled her in his arms, "I know baby, it hurts," he whispered, his eyes voicing his concern as he met her gaze to find her eyes beginning to focus.

"…Senbon?" she murmured, her eyes moving upward to take in his features, her eyelids feeling rather heavy, "Genma?"

"Hai, I'm here, Sakura," replied the senbon wielding shinobi, "We need to regroup immediately," he informed his team on his wireless, "do you copy?"

An explosion went off too close to their position, causing the ground to shake and startling him for him from his current thoughts as he quickly regained his footing, holding the startled medic nin who cried out at the sound.

"Hush baby," whispered Genma, standing up straight once more, and regarding her face which held a confused expression, "no one's going to hurt you."

He quickly exited the tent to find the entire inner wall of the base in flames, which were already starting to die out due to the pouring rain; he could hear the clash of metal in the distance and regarded the medic nin whose eyelids were slowly drifting shut from chakra burn out.

-

Naruto stood his ground, he had only received minor wounds throughout the duration of the battle, and most of their weaker forces were dead but the remainder of their shinobi stronger than they had anticipated. He jumped back as a burning tree fell to the ground in front of where he had once been standing, his feet sliding in the mud while he slid to a halt.

He could hear someone quickly approaching and prepared himself, he squinted, his eyes catching a glimpse of Genma in amongst the rising smoke from the tree trunk.

"Genma!" he hollered over the hissing of the dying fire and watched as the leaf shinobi jumped the remaining flames.

Genma landed in a crouching position behind him, and when Naruto turned around his breath caught in his lungs at the sight in his comrade's arms. He lost all sense of time as his feet dragged him toward his first love.

"S-Sakura-chan," Naruto voiced in awe of the situation as he watched Genma stand and turn to face him, revealing what he claimed to be true, "she's alive?"

"Hai, but we need to get her to a town and soon," informed Genma regarding both the woman in his arms and his companion, "we need to regroup with Kakashi and Sai immediately and blow this place."

Naruto was in a state of shock, while taking hold of Sakura's hand, the contact causing her eyelids to flutter open and meet his gaze. She smiled weakly as he stood before her with tears in his eyes.

"…Naruto…" she whispered, feeling his hand tighten around her own in the process.

"Naruto listen," instructed Genma, "Sakura has severe chakra burn out, we need to—

His eyes widened as an enemy nin appeared in back of Naruto, whose reaction time wasn't quick enough. Genma's breath hitched as Naruto staggered backwards for a moment before pushing the lifeless body off of him to reveal Sai standing in front of them with a stupid grin.

"Thought we weren't supposed to let out guard down," he teased before his eyes fell on the bundle that Genma had been entrusted to keep safe, "Sakura?"

For once a real smile appeared on Sai's face for a moment as he regarded the dazed pink haired woman resting in the arms of Genma, but their reunion would have to wait. Somehow their team must have missed a secondary camp for more Iwagakure troops were coming.

"Genma," Naruto's voice was firm as he gave Sakura's hand a squeeze, "find Kakashi and don't let anything happen to Sakura-chan," his eyes watched the senbon wielding shinobi's for confirmation.

"You have my word, nothing will happen to Sakura," replied Genma, "Kakashi and I will go to the village hidden in the waterfall."

Sai stepped forward and placed his hand over Sakura's as well, "Naruto and I will go to the village hidden in the grass to make sure that you and Kakashi are not followed," he gave the pale woman a smile, "Kakashi can send his ninken to find Naruto and myself."

"Understood," Genma turned to leave, but shot both his companions a smile while twirling his senbon, "Take care."

"No need to worry about us," cried Naruto, his gaze falling on Sakura once more, "I'm not going to let anything get in the way of my seeing Sakura-chan again!"

Genma gave a nod and leapt off in pursuit of Kakashi, the sooner they got Sakura out of Iwagakure the better; he could only hope that Naruto and Sai would be able to buy them enough time before they were followed.

-

Kakashi had lost contact with his team quite some time ago after realizing that the communicator had malfunctioned. He had closed his sharingan once more in fear of overexertion.

He had realized their mistake before the others when more Iwagakure troops arrived from a secondary camp, and had relied solely on ninjutsu since then, using the landscape to his advantage with his earth release styled jutsu. He jumped back as the land shifted beneath their feet and took a moment to catch his breath.

The terrain had become too slick from the rain, causing his stance to falter more than once, even now the continuous waters that fell from the sky were winning an endless battle.

"Kakashi?!" Genma's voice rang out from across the remains of the base, quickly shimmering and out of sight at top speed, trying to go undetected by Iwagakure's forces.

"Hai, over here!" hollered Kakashi, his shoulders slumped forward as he took slow deep breaths, trying to reserve his chakra.

Genma appeared in back of Kakashi, a smile on his face, as he too caught his breath, "Kami, am I glad to you see you, but we have to leave _now_, Naruto and Sai will cover us."

Kakashi let out a deep breath, "What's happened," he turned around to face his senbon twirling partner, his hair completely soaked causing the uneven layers that normally defied gravity to sag due its weight, droplets of water dripping from the ends, "that we…" his voice trailed off, his right eye widened, and the sharingan slowly opened to decipher if this was a genjutsu before him, and if it was—he prayed he would never awaken.

_Sakura…_

He apprehensively held out his hand, his eyes softening as his hand rested in her pink locks which he noticed had grown out a few inches below her shoulders. His heart clenched painfully within his chest as he saw the burns running down her arms and the paleness of her complexion, he could hear her slow drawn out breaths concluding that she was real, and this was no form of genjutsu before him.

"She's in pretty bad shape Kakashi, I don't know what the hell they were doing to her, when I found her they had her hooked up to machines and chakra blockers. She needs a doctor and soon," began Genma, turning his head to the side to give the man some respect, "Naruto and Sai are giving us enough time to get out of here," he continued to explain, "we're going to the village hidden in the waterfall, we'll meet up with them at the border of waterfall and grass." He silently regarded the woman in his arms and then held her out for Kakashi to take, "You're the faster runner, I'll deflect any attacks while on the way."

Kakashi hesitantly took a hold of the woman he loved and heard a small cry escape from her lips, as he shifted her body in his arms. Her clothing was soaked, and he could feel her body shiver, yet she was still warm and real and above all—alive.

He had dreamt of holding her in his arms, and he wanted nothing more than to tell her all the things that his heart currently felt—his hurt, his longing, his happiness, and most of all his love.

He lowered his head to bring his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "You'll be alright, Sakura-chan. I'll watch over you."

Sakura's eyes slowly opened and focused on the copy nin who currently held her safely in his arms. She blinked, trying to make sure that it wasn't an illusion, she new some where in her mind that she had spoken to Genma and Naruto, even Sai was there too or so she thought, but she currently felt so disoriented, and Kakashi, was he really there?

She regarded him with a dazed expression, "…Kakashi…" she whispered, her glassy emerald orbs meeting a pair of mismatched ones in return, her hand weakly lifted from her lap and found his masked cheek.

She could feel the side of his face lean into the palm of her hand; he enjoyed feeling her touch no matter how brief the contact might have been, before watching her eyelids flutter and close, a smile on her face as her hand returned to her lap.

"…I'm tired…" she mumbled, feeling the rise and fall of his chest, with her head leaning against him.

"Just sleep, I'm here now, Sakura," informed Kakashi, in no more than a whisper before straightening and nodding to Genma before both shinobi leapt into the surrounding woods.

-

Shizune let out a sigh as she stood in the hokage's empty office. Thanks to her and with the help of Jiraiya they had managed to get Tsunade to finally go home—she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since hearing the death of her apprentice.

Shizune couldn't help but think that the hokage's attachment to Sakura had resembled the relationship a mother would have with her daughter. Since Tsunade had never had any children and Sakura's mother had never taken a real interest in her or her abilities it was only natural that the two would develop a bond. Although she couldn't help but smile recalling the many times that Sakura had hidden the hokage's sake, and shook her head realizing that the hokage had influenced her apprentice greatly when it came to the love of drinking and gambling.

"Let's go home, Ton Ton," informed Shizune, casting a glance to the pig who currently sat on the hokage's desk in front of a picture.

She picked up the picture and her eyes softened to find Tsunade sitting in her office chair a genuine smile on her face, while her pink haired apprentice sat on top of the desk with a warm smile.

"Bwee!"

"Hai, I know," whispered Shizune, placing the picture back on the desk, "I miss Sakura-chan too."

-

The branches were slick with water, causing the two shinobi to use the ground by means of their departure—going against their better judgment because now they were more visible to any enemy nin they may come across.

Kakashi instinctively jumped back, Genma quickly followed his lead both noticing the wire that had almost been tripped.

"Too close for comfort," informed Genma, glancing at his teammate, "How's she holding up?"

"She's passed out again and at our current speed, we won't reach the village hidden in the waterfall for hours," analyzed Kakashi, his gaze lingering on the quiet woman in his arms, the concern evident in his voice.

"Then you better get going," remarked Genma, reaching into his vest and taking out a handful of senbon, "I'll try to buy you some time."

Kakashi's ears perked, there were at least ten that he could now sense and more on the way from the chakra he was detecting. He slowly crouched down, keeping his left arm around Sakura's shoulders, while resting her lower body on his leg, before biting down on his thumb and quickly performing the seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

His beloved ninken appeared before them, but it was Pakkun who broke their silence as his eyes rested on the woman in his master's arms.

"How?" murmured the pug, watching his master's face for any signs of acknowledgement.

"I'm not too sure of that myself," replied Kakashi, quickly standing and regarding the new arrivals on the field, "Pakkun you and I are going to the village hidden in the waterfall, I'll need your keen sense of direction to aid me."

He turned his attention to the remaining ninken who sat before him awaiting his orders, "You two will come with me," he regarded the smaller more agile of the group, "Three of you are to stay with Genma, while the remaining two return to Naruto and Sai, quickly make the decision amongst yourselves. We'll meet up at the border of waterfall and grass in a week's time to make sure that the enemy is unable to detect our whereabouts."

Genma tilted his head to the side, the three chosen dogs circling him in anticipation of a battle, "You just take care of Sakura," he stated with a grin, "I look forward to claiming that kiss she owes me."

Kakashi almost face faulted at the man's request, "We'll see you in a week," with that he gave the signal to the summoned dogs that would be accompanying him and quickly disappeared.

Genma spit out his senbon and grinned, hearing a body collapse due to the deadly aim, and smirked, "Looks like this just isn't their day."

-

"Naruto, head south east once you've finished with that group," ordered Sai, coming across on the wireless communicator.

"I got it, I got it," replied Naruto, letting out a sigh, quickly dodging an enemy's attack, "Geez, there's no end to this guys!"

"Hai, it would appear that we underestimated their numbers more so then we thought," observed Sai, jumping out of the way and missing a near fatal blow, "we'll lead them away from Kakashi's group and hopefully buy them enough time to cross into waterfall."

"Unlike Konoha shinobi, Iwagakure would need clearance to pass into waterfall and grass," commented Naruto, "Alright, I've got a break; I'm heading toward grass now."

"I'll be behind you momentarily."

"Roger that!"

-

Ino let out a sigh, standing in the darkened flower shop as she gazed at the display of daffodils before her.

"They're her favorite," she whispered, pausing briefly as if awaiting the response of the flowers, "she would always take daffodils to people when they were sick…"

"_I need to buy two daffodils today Ino," commented a thirteen year old Sakura Haruno, selecting two daffodils from the bucket before her._

"_Two?" questioned Ino with a grin, "Don't think that you're going to outdo me by giving Sasuke two flowers forehead girl."_

_Her grin faded, as she watched the sincere expression appear on the girl's face, "The other one is for Lee. He was also hurt in the Chuunin Exam, and I want to bring him a flower; maybe it will make his recovery go faster."_

"You always did that," Ino found her knees buckle and slid down the wall, bowing her head as her tear drops hit the floor beneath her, her fingers tightening around the daffodil in her hand, "You always cared so much for every one, and in the end _no one _was there to care for you Sakura."

-

He sighed, turning his attention to the window and took in the darkened sky, rain drops beginning to fall from the clouds and onto the ground. Jiraiya turned his interest back to the sleeping blonde, her face looked peaceful and he had finally managed to get her to sleep.

"_Tsunade, I understand how you must feel, but blaming yourself won't bring her back."_

"_I'm well aware of that," she whispered, sitting on the sofa in her living room, too tired to reach for the sake in the drawer beside her._

_He couldn't help but sigh, she was taking this harder than he had expected her to, he took a seat next to her, "I hate seeing you like this."_

"_Then leave," her eyes widened, feeling his arm around her shoulders._

"_Don't be so damn stubborn. I know you well enough, to know that being along is the last thing you want."_

_Her hands fisted in her lap as tears rolled down her cheeks, she almost smiled at the thought of her apprentice once telling her how she hated to cry because of how weak it had made her feel._

'_You were so wrong Sakura; to cry is a strength that many will never understand.'_

"_You must be very tired Tsunade-hime," observed Jiraiya, "Why don't you…" He trailed off, turning his head to find her resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. _

He gently moved a fallen blonde strand from her face, careful not to wake her in the process, his eyes softening at the woman who had unconsciously helped him to create his writings—after all, she was always unobtainable to him.

-

"Genma found her in the camp," it was more of a statement then a question that the pug had voiced, while running ahead of his master with his other four legged companions, "I still don't understand how she got there, I know for a fact that she was…"

"I don't understand it myself, Pakkun," interjected the copy nin in all honesty.

His senses were on high alert; the rain had started to break, allowing the visibility to improve. Every so often he found himself straining his ears to detect her quiet breathing, afraid that he may lose her at any moment—she was already so weak and his thoughts went back to what Genma had informed him of...

"_I don't know what the hell they were doing to her, when I found her they had her hooked up to machines and chakra blockers."_

"Kakashi, we'll reach the border by dawn if we keep moving," informed one of his subordinates at his side.

"You up to it?" questioned the second party member on his other side, "You didn't overexert yourself earlier did you?"

"I'll be fine, the sooner we get to waterfall the better."

-

"Thanks I owe you one," thanked Genma, regarding one of the dogs that had just taken down one of his attackers, "…Not that I really know what to get a dog though," he rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

Kakashi had left him with dogs as his only conversationalists and now realized that he couldn't head to waterfall as anticipated or he would be leading Iwagakure right to Kakashi and his party.

He whistled to the three and tilted his head trying to make a break for it, "We're heading east, we'll try to give Kakashi enough time to cross into waterfall, and we'll head to the western border of grass."

The three dogs nodded in acknowledgement before following after their commander, the night sky over head would be fading in mere hours; their route would take at least three days to cross into the village hidden in the grass.

-

The sun was appearing by the time Shikamaru found his blonde haired teammate. He let out a sigh and sat down next to her, noticing the wilting daffodil in her fist.

"Have you been here all night?" he questioned, taking in her mused hair and blood shot eyes.

"…Hai…" she mumbled, "I kept thinking that I would like to take a daffodil to Sakura," she turned to face him with a sad smile, "they were always her favorite you know?" she watched him nod his head in response before continuing, "But I can't, because there's not even a grave for me to visit."

For once his favorite expression wasn't spoken, his eyes widened when he felt her arms wrap around him and heard her sobbing.

"There's not even a grave, Shika…"

-

He was exhausted as they crossed the border into Kirigakure. Sakura had grown paler and he could feel her body shivering no doubt from the water that had soaked her clothing from the previous night's rain. He held her closer trying to warm her, his accompanying ninken had run off in search of a medical facility.

Kakashi sat on one knee, trying to catch his breath, he had run the entire night; thankfully his other team members must have been able to hold off Iwagakure's troops for they had not encountered any confrontation throughout the duration of the night.

Upon seeing his returning subordinates he felt a renewed energy as he got to his feet with the woman he loved securely in his arms.

"Found one boss, c'mon!"

-

Kakashi watched as the medic nins of waterfall quickly took Sakura from him and placed her on a stretcher before disappearing behind a door that read _Authorized Personnel Only_. He slid down the nearest wall, his legs finally giving out from under him, and thanking the gods that he had gotten her to the hospital before collapsing.

"You did well, Kakashi," informed Pakkun, placing his front paws on his master's outstretched leg.

"Sakura-chan's strong," commented the larger dog to his left with a smirk, thinking back on his tracking days with the medic nin, when they had gone to find the surviving Uchiha.

While the smaller one on his right shook his head, "She's definitely strong, but you always go for the noisy ones."

"Quiet both of you," ordered Pakkun, noticing that their master had fallen asleep, "Get some rest Kakashi, you look like hell."

-

"Kakashi? Oi, Kakashi?"

The copy nin slowly opened his right eye, the fluorescent lights of the hospital causing him to blink before focusing in on the brown furry head in front of him.

"Pakkun?" he questioned, the memories from the previous night quickly invading his thoughts.

"Some medics just took Sakura down the hallway to a room," informed Pakkun, "they said to wake you up, looks like she's in the clear."

Kakashi felt a weight lifted from his chest as he stood, the shinobi in him still on high alert, "Pakkun, take these two with you and find out any information you can regarding any involvement Iwagakure might have had with Kirigakure."

"Understood!"

He watched as the three quickly disappeared down the hallway of the hospital, hearing a nurse grumble about dogs in the hospital, a tired smile appearing on his face, as he headed in the opposite direction.

It didn't take him too long to see a medic coming out of a hospital room and give him a smile, "She's resting now, and I won't question you considering you both appear to be shinobi of the leaf, but please know that I will want to keep her a few days for observations."

As if reading his alarm, she quickly waved her hand to dismiss any concern, "She'll be fine, she just needs her rest," she tilted her head toward the room and winked, "Why don't you go and sit with her, I'm sure she'd like that."

Kakashi gave the woman a happy eye crease, "Arigato," and entered the room, softly closing the door behind him before turning to his sleeping lover who was hooked up to a heart monitor.

He took a chair from a corner of the room and brought it closer to her bed before taking a seat and taking hold of her hand in his own, bringing the back of her hand to his masked lips.

"I missed you, Sakura-chan," he whispered, before resting his head on his arm on the edge of her bed and closing his eye.

-

Alright, chapter 9 ideas are already floating around in my mind! Next is to get them down on paper. Hope you'll review.


	9. Stay With Me

Author's Note: I was doing so well with really quick updates, but alas, I had all these lovely thoughts in my head and I had to get them down in a timeline format before I could be expected to go anywhere. Only the best for you dear readers! XD

Wow, your reviews were so amazing! Made me feel all warm inside to know that my writing really matters…I hope that you will enjoy this chapter, it took me a lot of day dreaming and note taking to get it perfect…

-

_/Beep…Beep…/_

_-_

_Sakura gasped as the air reentered her lungs, she found her body spasm and choked as the air invaded her chest. Faces soon began to come into focus and she could make out Iwa troops picking up a fallen soldier._

"_I hope that the captain knew what he was doing, bringing this Konoha medic back from the dead," informed one of the soldiers, "sacrificing one of our best medics for this bitch…sounds like he's out of his mind."_

"_Quiet, he'll hear you and then it will be your head instead of this guy's," objected his companion. _

_A feeling of utter confusion and nausea overwhelmed her as she rolled onto her side and felt the dry heaves starting, before she was lifted from the ground and shackled. Her eyes rested on that of the captain's, who were cold and unforgiving._

"_Don't make me regret my decision," he stated with a smirk._

_-_

'_Home…I want to go home…' were the only thoughts of the medic nin as she lay exhausted on an examination table, her limbs had betrayed her and after endless hours of experiments the only thing left functioning was her mind. Her vacant emerald eyes took in the sight of several medics conversing nearby in one of the corners of the tent. _

"_She'll be dead in another day or so, captain," informed one of the medics, glancing from the chart in hand to said medic, "seems like a pity to have resurrected her, only to kill her once more after our analysis is completed."_

"_What we have learned from her will aid us in the destruction of our enemies, the ends will justify the means," replied the captain, with a smirk, glancing at a chart and nodding his head in satisfaction, "besides she's lasted far longer than any of the other test subjects, two weeks to be exact."_

"_What will we do with her when she has reached her limit?" questioned another one of the medics._

"_Let the men decide what to do with her, she will no longer be any concern of mine," informed the captain, lifting the flap of the tent and disappearing._

_The pink haired medic felt a single tear roll down her cheek, before her eyelids closed once more…_

_- _

_/…Beep…Beep…/_

_-_

"_No, Shizune I will not calm down!" exclaimed Tsunade, her fist pounding on the top of the desk as it splits from the impact._

"_I know that you're upset Tsunade-sama, we all are, but please…" began Shizune, trying to reason with her distraught Hokage. _

"_They left her Shizune," her voice cracks, filled with emotion, "they left her without a second thought…"_

"…_Tsunade-sama…" whispers Shizune, holding TonTon in her arms, bowing her head in the process at the pain stricken woman in front of her. _

"_Sakura's team abandoned her, Shizune," she hung her head, anger and remorse on her features, "they saved themselves and left her for dead…" she held her head in her hands, "they left my Sakura-chan behind…"_

_-_

_/…Beep…/_

_-_

_MISSION STATUS: FAILURE_

_CASUALTIES: HARUNO SAKURA_

_-_

_The mission report fell from Kakashi's hands as the information rolled around in his mind._

_-_

_/…Beep…/_

_-_

_To be gone is to never again see her smiling face, to never again hold or caress her skin; Sakura's gone…she died in Iwagakure…didn't she?_

_-_

_/…Beep…Beep…/_

_-_

_Sakura…_

_He apprehensively held out his hand, his eyes softening as his hand rested in her pink locks which he noticed had grown out a few inches below her shoulders. His heart clenched painfully within his chest as he saw the burns running down her arms and the paleness of her complexion, he could hear her slow drawn out breaths concluding that she was real, and this was no form of genjutsu before him._

_-_

_**…BEEP…BEEP …/**_

_-_

"_I missed you, Sakura-chan," he whispered, before resting his head on his arm on the edge of her bed and closing his eye._

_**BEEP.BEEP**_

_-_

Kakashi's eyelids opened with a start, the sterile smell of the hospital room and the beeping of the heart monitor invading his senses.

"Sakura!" he gasped, seizing the hand nearest to him, and holding onto it as if she were a fleeting dream that would disappear if he were to let go.

"No need to worry," informed a tall male nurse, with kind blue eyes and a head of shaggy blonde hair, as he glanced from the chart in his hand and regarded Kakashi with a smile, "She made it through the night, which is a good sign."

Kakashi leaned back in the chair that he had been occupying since last evening and let out a small sigh of relief, watching as the nurse continued to write down a few notes on Sakura's current prognosis.

-

Sakura's eyelids began to flutter, no sounds invaded her senses and everything around her appeared to be moving in slow motion. She had felt this before and there was a familiar chakra signature in the room with her.

Her eyes widened instantaneously, realizing where she knew this chakra from, and quickly turned her head.

"Awake are you?" he informed with a smirk, glancing at the chart in front of him, "the doctor says that you're going to make a full recovery."

Her emerald eyes watched him with a look of terror etching its way onto her face, seeing his hand move to his coat and pull out a filled syringe. Sakura looked to her right to find Kakashi still asleep before her.

_Genjutsu!_

"Don't worry," began the captain, "I'll be doing you a favor by ending your life now, after all, your companions already took out most of my camp," he explained, squirting the syringe and then moving toward her IV bag.

"…No…" her voice was raw, as she watched him and then turned her attention back to her sleeping lover, "…Kakashi…wake up…" she murmured, trying to raise her arm and reach toward him.

"Now, I'm afraid that I can't remember how much pancuronium bromide to inject into a patient," informed the captain, bringing his finger to his chin in thought, he grinned as he watched her eyes widen in fright, "hmm, do you think that 60mg is too much?"

She could feel her breath hitch, as she watched him inject the syringe's contents into her IV line, stretching her arm out toward Kakashi to break the genjutsu's hold, already beginning to feel the paralysis of the drug taking effect as her tears rolled down her cheeks…

-

_The air is heavy, and I feel too relaxed at the moment. You're tired, Kakashi, you haven't slept in days and then finding Sakura and running all night has worn you out. Anyone would feel the same as you right now. _

His eye fell on Sakura's sleeping form before him; her even breathing and the frequent beeping of the monitor falling on his ears. He had made it in time, and the nurse had informed him that she was going to be alright…

-

_No…my limbs are numb…have to focus…have to reach…Kami, my lungs…_

With all of her determination she managed to stretch her arm out, her eyes widening, with every ounce of her strength she grabbed his hand, and gasped, "Kakashi!"

-

Kakashi's eyes widened as his shinobi senses kicked in, the genjutsu around him immediately began to fade, and as the world around him came into view he shot from his seat.

There before him was Sakura, his hand in her own, as she looked at him with pleading eyes, tears streaming her cheeks, her chest heaving and her body beginning to spasm from the drug, the heart monitor beeping erratically.

The sound of an empty syringe hitting the tiled floor went unnoticed for it was drowned out by he sound of the monitor and the rushing of feet echoing through the corridor as a team of medics appeared, finding their patient to be on the brink of death and the captain pinned against the wall by her silver haired companion, with a kunai to the man's throat.

"You son of a bitch…" Kakashi's voice ground out, holding the kunai to the Iwa captain's throat, "Tell me what you put in that syringe…"

"She's going into cardiac arrest! Hurry, get the ventilator!" rang out of the voice of a female medic, the medics around her scurrying to abide by her orders, "You three, hold her down!"

"Sir!" screamed a young medic, "What are you doing to that man?!"

Without turning to acknowledge the medic's present, Kakashi stated, in a voice that was void of all emotion but anger, "He's an Iwagakure captain, and there was something in the empty syringe that shattered on the floor."

The medic's eyes widened as she yelled back to her supervisor, "Ma'am! This man put something in the IV line!"

The head medic was doing all she could to try and get her patient to breath, "What in Kami's name did you put in the bag?!" she hollered out, over the frantic noise of the monitor, "For Kami's sake, tell us now! We're loosing her!" Her eyes widened in shock as she heard the man laugh and say _'Good, one less bitch in the world.' _

The captain could only cough up blood after Kakashi's hand slammed the back of his head into the wall, his right eye boring into the man before him, as the hold on his throat tightened.

"What did you put in the syringe?" he grounded out, his hold tightening with each passing moment.

The captain, coughed and grinned, his hand covering Kakashi's own, "Pancuronium Bromide."

Kakashi could hear the head medic gasp, as he dropped the captain, who fell to a heap on the floor, wheezing as the air began to reenter his lungs. Kakashi turned his attention to the medics and took in the sight of three young women trying to hold Sakura down, her body appearing to be having a seizure, while the head medic barked out orders.

"Get me an anticholinesterase stat!"

"Hai!" a medic ran past Kakashi and down the hallway, her shoes echoing on the tiled floor.

Kakashi stood there watching the team of medics; the entire room began to spin from their movement, the horrid sound of the beeping monitor, the sterile smells, and the head medic's orders ringing through his ears.

"She's flat lining! If we can't get her to calm down we're going to lose her!"

Kakashi could feel his breath catching in his lungs and without thinking he quickly pushed two of the younger medics, who were trying to hold down his lover, to the side.

"Sir! Sir, stand back, please sir, you can't be here!" they screamed, trying to hold him back, "Sir—

His visible eye held a pleading look in it, "I'll calm her down."

Their hands fell from his arms as the medic team observed, him lift up his hitai-ate, revealing a scarred left eye and quickly take Sakura by her shoulders.

"Sakura!" his voice had taken on the same authoritative tone it held when he was her sensei as a genin, "Sakura, look at me!"

Her eyes locked briefly with his, long enough for the tomoe of the sharingan to twirl…

-

_The air is still and there is no movement, I must be in a genjutsu…I'll just create the seal for kai and—_

"_Sakura…"_

_The pink haired medic nin slowly turned around, her eyes wide, she could feel her breath hitch as she took in the form of her silver haired lover. _

"_Kakashi?" she whispered, his name, watching as he slowly walked toward her._

"_Sakura…" the way he said her name, made her want to cry, as she found her feet walking forward to meet him. _

"_Kakai!" she exclaimed, her steps increasing as she ran to him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she launched himself into his embrace, her legs wrapped around his waist. _

_Kakashi could feel Sakura's hand in his hair as she began kissing his cheek, his arms wrapped around her tightly. _

"_I missed you so much, Kakai…" she whispered, holding his face in her hands, her emerald eyes brimming with tears. _

"_Sakura," he breathed her name, with such emotion, it was as if his lips hadn't spoken it for ages, he tilted his head back, and let out a sigh as her lips claimed his still masked ones. _

_Slowly breaking their heated kiss, she leaned her forehead against his own, and gently rubbed her nose against his own, "Why are we in a genjutsu? I want this to be real…"_

"_I do too, Sakura-chan…I want this more than you can imagine," Kakashi began to explain, feeling her lips tease his own in a series of feather light kisses, her hand lingering in his silver strands, "the antidote is coming…I can't lose you again, Sakura."_

"_So I was able to break the genjutsu on you…" she pondered, savoring the moment, even if it was only an illusion, "but why are you using the sharingan, Kakai? You know what it does to the user…" _

"_I had no choice but to enter your mind, the medic team needed you to remain calm…your body is in cardiac arrest, Sakura…" he informed her, the fear evident in his voice._

"_Kakashi, you need to get out of my mind," she whispered, kissing his masked lips with urgency, "If I die—_

"_You're not going to die," his voice held an authoritative tone to it. _

_She shook her head sadly and continued, her eyes boring into his, "If I were to die," she kept his head from turning away from her, "I don't know what it would do to you, while you were still in my mind."_

"_I already believed that I had lost you once Sakura," began Kakashi, his gaze softening and mismatched eyes watching her, "You are one of my few remaining precious people, I would rather die with you then live without you."_

_Sakura's emerald eyes brimmed with tears, "Don't say that," she choked out the words, "I don't want you to think so little of your life…"_

"_You're my life, Sakura-chan," he informed, shooting her a happy eye crease, for old time's sake, "and I don't want to live life without you in it."_

_The tears freely fell down her cheeks, as she lowered his masked and claimed his naked lips with hers, her nose brushing against his in the process as she whispered, "Stay with me?"_

"_Always…" _

-

"Ma'am! I've got the atropine!" exclaimed, a winded medic, rushing into the room and giving the sight of the motionless couple in front of a puzzled look.

"There's no time to be gawking, quickly inject it into her arm! This man has somehow managed to stop the seizures allowing us to keep her lungs moving!"

"Hai Ma'am," replied the medic, quickly inserting the tip of the syringe into a vein in Sakura's left arm.

-

"Sir? Sir, wake up…"

Kakashi's body bolted up right as he found a young smiling female medic before him, his eyes went directly to Sakura who appeared to be sleeping peacefully before him, as he sat in a chair beside of her bed.

He turned his attention to the medic who nodded in affirmation, "Hai, whatever you did, you saved her life, she explained, her smile reaching her blue eyes.

Kakashi let out the air that he hadn't realized he had been holding and felt the tension leave his body. He scanned the room for the captain, the medic reading his thoughts interjected.

"Don't worry sir, he has been apprehended by the authorities and will be taken in for questioning. I would assume that he is the one who hurt your companion in the first place…" she explained, gently taking Sakura's arm in her hand as proof of her statement, "She's going to be fine now, we'll be keeping her for observation but in a few days she'll be good to return to Konoha."

"Arigato," replied Kakashi, with all the sincerity he could muster. He truly owed Kirigakure so much; he would personally see that if there were any missions that required Konoha assistance that he be placed on the team to show his gratitude.

The young medic smiled and politely excused herself, shutting the door quietly behind her as Kakashi moved his chair closer to Sakura's bed. He placed his hand on her head and gently rubbed it, pushing back a few stray strains in the process, he noticed once more that her hair had really grown out since he had seen her last and smiled.

"…Kakai?" Sakura whispered, her eyelids fluttering open as her emerald eyes tiredly fell on him, her breathing being helped by a ventilator.

"Hai, Sakura-chan," replied Kakashi , watching a smile appear on her face as he continued to rub her head, even when she was a child he loved giving her this special gesture. He was the only man fortunate enough to give the pink haired kunoichi such an intimate gesture and she was the only female to ever receive it from the copy nin.

"…You…" she began, her voice raw, removing the mask, as he presented a cup of water with a straw before her, holding her head up as she sipped the liquid and let out a sigh of relief after it had reached her parched throat.

"I what?" he asked, in a soothing voice, leaning forward and rubbing her head, his other hand caressing her cheek.

She smiled, at his affections and continued, "You stayed," she whispered, "You didn't go off and read Icha Icha like you usually do," a small laugh escaped her lips, and his chuckle didn't go unheard.

"Did you want me to go off and read Icha Icha, Sakura-chan?" he teased, watching as she closed her eyes and smiled, "I could do it right now, but I'd rather stay where I am."

"I'd rather you stay where you are too," she murmured, starting to fall in between realities once more, her eyelids trying to stay open.

"Shh," he began, kissing her forehead in the process, "It's alright, go to sleep Sakura…I'll be here when you wake up," he gently replaced the oxygen mask, not ready to take any chances.

Even after her breathing had become even indicating that she had fallen asleep, he still continued to rub her head, feeling her soft tresses under his fingers, and gazing at every intricate detail of her form, that made her who she was.

His gaze fell on her arms which were bandaged from the shoulders down to her finger tips. His eyes softening, yet the anger remained with the thought of how much pain they had inflicted on her and his worst fears were still unanswered, but he would have to wait and give her time to confide in him the full extent of their brutality.

When he had entered her mind she had appeared to be the same kunoichi he had fallen in love with, but only time would bring out the effects of her captivity. For now, all he could focus on would be her physical state; he could only pray that emotionally she would remain the woman he had loved for so long.

Pakkun and the two remaining nin dogs returned to the hospital, the two dogs stood guard outside of Sakura's room, while Pakkun entered and took in the form of his lovesick master and the sleeping young woman before him.

He gently hopped onto her bed and cleared his throat, when his master took notice of him, he couldn't help but smile with a canine grin, "Don't we make a happy family? Do I come to you when I want my allowance or Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi couldn't help but sweatdrop at the pug's remark, "Did you find out anything?" he whispered, trying not to wake the exhausted woman.

"Hai, Iwagakure has already set up a base here in Kirigakure…they've been spying on the surrounding villages for months. Apparently, Sakura," his gaze shifted to the sleeping medic, and his expression saddened, "wasn't the first one to be abducted from a village while on a mission…they've been using medics as test subjects to gain information on the villages jutsus."

Kakashi's jaw tightened, as he quickly spared a glance at his pink haired lover, "And the others?"

"Dead," replied Pakkun, walking up to the head of the bed and sitting next to Sakura's shoulder, pushing back a strand of hair with his paw, "Sakura's the only one to survive the experiments," he noticed the look of detestation in his master's eye, "don't make Sakura tell you what they did to her Kakashi."

Kakashi glared at his subordinate for a moment, "You know me better than that."

"Hai," replied the pug, nodding his head, "But I also know how much of a hot head you are when someone you love has been hurt."

"Pakkun," Kakashi's voice was stern, as he glared down the pug before him.

Pakkun couldn't help but let out a sigh and then with a voice that rivaled that of his master's, "Kakashi, I know that you love this woman, you've never told me in your own words, but that doesn't make it any less of a fact. I also am pretty sure that you love her so much that at this very moment you're not thinking clearly, and that intellectual mind of yours is useless," he explained.

He noticed his master's jaw clench tightly from behind the mask and sighed, "I understand that the thought of someone…" he had to choose his words carefully, "_touching _Sakura makes you sick," he didn't miss Kakashi's body tense up either, "it would anybody, but if you push her, you risk breaking her."

"Are you finished?" Kakashi asked his voice bitter sounding.

"Hai, I'm finished," informed Pakkun, turning around a few times before flopping down next to Sakura and resting his head on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi questioned, the glare in his visible eye still remaining.

"Going to sleep, unlike you, the boys and I have been running around all morning," he informed, one eye open, a grin appearing on his face, "I have just as much right to be here as you do. I answer to Sakura too, or did you forget that you allowed her to sign your scroll?"

"Hn," stated Kakashi, taking out his latest edition of Icha Icha, his glare could burn holes through its pages.

Pakkun closed his eye and sighed, humans, did they ever grow up? It was like dealing with a thirteen year old adolescent at times…

-

"I didn't think we'd ever get out of Iwagakure after that ambush early this morning," informed Naruto, sitting on the ground, with a canteen in his hand, after having crossed into Grass.

"Hai," replied Sai, sitting a few feet from his companion and sketching, "we can only hope that Kakashi and Genma made it to Kirigakure with Sakura."

"They did," stated Naruto without any hesitation, noticing Sai's questioning expression he continued, "Kakashi would never allow for anything to happen to Sakura-chan…especially since we just got her back," his eyes glazed over and a sad smile on his face, "I can't believe Sakura-chan is alive…did you see her Sai?"

Sai didn't need to ask any further questions to understand what Naruto meant, "Hai…I saw her, and I'm glad that we took care of the rest of their camp," he informed before continuing with his sketches, "Something tells me that Iwagakure is in Grass."

Naruto nodded, "Hai, I'm sure that they didn't just target Konoha, I say when we make it to the village we start investigating. What about you Bull—Ack!"

Sai couldn't help but smile watching Naruto be taken out by the sleeping large dog at his side, his limbs flailing from underneath, while him and the remaining nin dog exchanged a look that screamed, _baka_.

-

Genma and his three nin dogs were exhausted, they had led the soldiers through most of Iwagakure before they could attempt to reach grass. He had taken out a canteen of water and was tending to the injured leg of one of his companions.

"That hurts."

"Gomen," replied Genma, wrapping a bandage around the dog's leg while the other two kept watch, "It shouldn't be much longer until we reach Grass, and then hopefully we can get some information on Iwagakure."

He let out a sigh, twirling his senbon in his mouth and looked toward the direction of Kirigakure.

"Don't worry," informed the dog, laying down next to his appointed team leader and resting his head in his lap, "Kakashi will take good care of Sakura."

Genma couldn't help but scratch the dog's head, "Hai, he had better. I expect a kiss from that beautiful blossom when I see her."

All three dogs couldn't help but roll their eyes as Genma's blatant comment. Of course, there we a few snickers too that went unnoticed, at the thought of Genma kissing Sakura…no…more like Genma kissing Sakura in front of Kakashi. How could humans be so oblivious?

-

It was dark when Sakura awoke with a start; it took her a moment to realize where she was as her surroundings came into view. She could make out the faint noise coming from the ventilator and the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

The pain immediately registered as it coursed through her body, causing her to moan, her limbs felt like they were on fire and her head was pounding—for a moment she thought that she was back in Iwagakure hooked up to machines in the medic tent.

She could feel a weight on her left shoulder and slowly turned her head to peer into the eyes of a familiar pug. A smile graced her features as she murmured in between the ventilator's sounds, "…Pakkun…"

Pakkun grinned and rubbed up against her to show his affections; only with her did he allow himself to be a true dog. Sakura couldn't help but hold her smile at his behavior, she was as happy to see him as he was to see her. After all, his was the last face that she had seen before she died.

That thought suddenly made her nauseous once more, as she turned her gaze from him, "You're alright," began Pakkun.

She couldn't help but notice a missing occupant while Pakkun scooted a little closer and whispered, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, Kakashi will be back shortly. I figure he's roaming the halls looking for an Icha Icha book in the gift shop."

She giggled and shook her head at the thought of Kakashi going into the gift shop and asking some poor old lady at the counter if they had Icha Icha, and then trying to explain to her what genre Icha Icha fell under.

A medic entered the room, shooting the two dogs outside an odd look, the one of the right winked, "Hey good looking…whatcha got cooking?" While the one on the right sighed and smacked his head, "Why me?"

Sakura and Pakkun glanced at one another and couldn't help but mutter, "Lame."

The medic took her blood pressure and sent her a warm smile, "How are you feeling?"

Sakura looked at Pakkun for a moment and then swallowed before replying, "You want me to be honest?"

The medic couldn't help but smile, "If you feel like shit then we're doing something right."

Sakura couldn't help but smile and nod, "Hai, I figured as much."

"We'll increase your pain killers…have you regained feeling in your arms yet?"

"They're still numb, but it's to be expected with severe chakra burns," replied Sakura, she knew one medic could tell another medic apart from a civilian just by the chakra within the body, so there was no need to hide her abilities.

"We'll try to repair the damage," commented the medic, adding a note to the chart at the end of the bed, "try not to worry too much Sakura-san."

"Arigato."

-

When Kakashi returned to her room after making a visit to the hospital gift shop, he had expected Sakura to be asleep, what he had not expected to find were three of his nin dogs watching some TV game show in her hospital room.

The two loyal watch dogs were sprawled out in front of the TV, tails thumping on the tiled floor in delight, while Pakkun and Sakura grinned in amusement at their antics.

"What is everyone watching?" questioned Kakashi, walking in with a bouquet of daffodils in his right hand and three furry heads glancing his way before turning back to the program.

"Three people spin this wheel for money, Kakashi," informed the dog version who housed antics like Genma, "then they have to guess letters on a board and solve the puzzle."

"Sakura-chan's getting all of the puzzles before these bakas even have five letters on the board," informed his side kick.

Sakura couldn't help but smile tiredly and mumble through the oxygen mask, "Well with topics like places and things, it's not that hard."

Pakkun noticed the flowers in his master's hand and stretched before hopping off the bed, he tipped his head indicating for the other two to follow, the larger of the two complaining about how he wanted to know what the topic was.

"It's 'Instant Ramen'," stated Sakura, feeling that Naruto would have been well suited for this game show and reaching for the remote control, her bandaged fingers fumbling over the buttons until she found the power switch and turned the program off.

Kakashi took a seat beside her bed and held out the bouquet, rubbing the back of his head nervously when her eyes fell on her favorite flower.

"You didn't have to buy me flowers, Kakashi," she murmured, looking up at him, with a smile that somehow didn't manage to reach her eyes.

"Well, I didn't…you see, the little old lady in the shop was all out of Icha Icha, and before I could leave, I had to help her get one of the senile patients down from the book case, so she gave me the flowers free of charge," he explained, watching her eye brow arch at his explanation.

"Well, thank her for the flowers then," replied Sakura, sighing as she lay in the hospital bed, her head swimming with thoughts and trying to piece them all together.

Kakashi tried not to let it show, but her reaction wasn't the one that he had hoped for. The Haruno Sakura he knew loved daffodils and would brighten up at any gift, but that was the Sakura before Iwagakure.

Maybe what Sakura really needed was some alone time—away from him, when all he wanted to do was to be with her—to let her collect her thoughts and come to terms with things in her own way.

Unfortunately, he knew her way, it was to lock her emotions up and keep her feelings bottled up inside of her, in order to not hurt or inconvenience anyone. He couldn't help but smirk, they really were alike, all except for one thing, Sakura didn't wear a mask and her feelings were transparent.

"I think I'll go find Pakkun and the others," informed the copy nin, his emotions feeling rather deflated, after her initial reaction, and placing the flowers in a vase.

"Kakashi?" her voice rang out, his hand on the door knob, "Stay with me?"

He turned to face his pink haired medic and shot her a happy eye crease in return, "Always."

Kakashi slowly walked back toward her and watched as she weakly held out her hand to him. He took a seat on the side of her bed and gently grasped her bandaged hand. Sakura removed the oxygen mask, before noticing his alarmed expression which she gave him a smile in return and leaned forward, weakly wrapping her arm around neck; the wincing was well worth it just to feel him in her arms once again.

He felt his heart begin to beat faster; he had wanted to feel her in his arms for so long, and felt a weight being lifted from his chest as he tenderly embraced her, the side of her face resting on his shoulder as his right hand idly ran through her long soft pink tresses. 

Kakashi realized that he didn't need answers right away, for the moment, he had Sakura back in his life, and her ability to understand his needs and his longing for her were enough to console him.

"Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan," he murmured, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Gomen nasai?" she questioned, turning her head toward him and causing his cheek to brush up against her own.

"Gomen nasai, that I wasn't there with you, I wanted to be with you so badly," he whispered his apology, feeling her body tense up at his words, "I missed you, Sakura-chan, more than I thought I could. I nearly died when they told me you had been killed in Iwagakure."

Sakura leaned her cheek against his own, savoring the little amount of skin that was exposed against her own, her hands unwillingly able to take in the feeling on their own. She could feel his arms begin to tighten around her and then feel his apprehension in doing so, fearing that she were as fragile as a porcelain doll and that she may break within his grasp.

"Gomen nasai, Kakai," she whispered, already hearing the unspoken '_why?_' that was on the tip of his tongue, "for causing you so much pain, even now."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Sakura."

"But I—

Kakashi tilted his head in order to watch her face, her emerald eyes brimming with unshed tears, "Don't cry," he pleaded, "please don't cry, I hate it when you cry."

"Gomen, it's a weakness I know," she replied, shaking her head, as if trying to shake the tears away.

"No hana, you're so beautiful," he whispered taking her face in his hands, "please, Sakura-chan," he was begging, he knew it, "please let me kiss you," his nose brushing against her own, "I won't ask anything of you until you're ready, I promise…"

Sakura's right hand trembled from the numbness as she brought her fingers to the edge of his mask, her heart aching more than her body ever could, at his pleas, as she slowly hooked her fingers underneath the fabric and steadying her hand pulled the mask down to reveal the face that she had longed to see.

Kakashi waited for her permission watching as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her breath catching in her lungs momentarily as she felt his naked lips on hers and softly returned the kiss. She could feel him quietly sigh, the side of his thumbs caressing her cheeks, as he held her face, and brushing the tears away after the dam broke.

"Don't cry," he murmured, his nose brushing against her own, his visible eyelid remaining closed, "please don't cry, hana, it makes me want to kiss you more."

He hesitantly deepened the kiss, waiting to see if Sakura would object, when she didn't and he felt her arm weakly wrap around his neck he preceded, conveying all of his pent up desires into the kiss with his fragile blossom.

"Kami, I missed you so…" he whispered, breaking their kiss to regain his breath, his forehead leaning against hers, his eyelid remaining closed.

Sakura could feel her chest heaving as the air reentered her lungs, her eyelids remaining closed, feeling his forehead against hers, "Please don't leave me, I don't want to be alone. I really don't, it's just that everything is so jumbled up inside my mind."

His lips sought out her own once more and he couldn't help but sigh at how she managed to make him feel so needed and worthy of her love, "Sakura, you are my most precious person, don't you know I could never leave you?"

"Arigato," she choked out in between sobs, "my mind, my body, the memories, it all hurts so much…" she weakly pulled him closer her left hand trembling as she clung to the front of his vest.

Kakashi gently placed his hand over hers and felt his heart break as the tears streamed down her cheeks pooling from her emerald eyes.

"But I love you so," she whispered, feeling him brush away her tears with his right hand, as she closed her eyes, savoring his touch.

"Shh," he coaxed, gently settling in next to her on the bed as he slowly lowered her fragile form with him, until her head was resting on the opposite side of the pillow from his own, "I know," he watched her emerald orbs as they bore into his.

Kakashi carefully placed the oxygen mask back over her mouth and watched as her tired emerald eyes intently watched him, a small smile gracing her features when he was satisfied with his work. He pulled her close, watching her sleep peacefully in his embrace and whispered, "And I love you."

-

Read It? Then Quick! Run And Review!


	10. Things To Come

Author's Note: Thank you all! I received such wonderful reviews for Chapter 9. It really made me happy to know that many of you enjoy that the plot has now taken on a story format. I must say that I am completely loving this journey so far and your ideas are wonderful! A special thanks to _loverofallthingschocolate _and _ShipperTrish _for letting me bounce ideas off of them for this chapter and the upcoming plotline during their duration in Waterfall.

-

When Sakura awoke from her dreamlike state, she found herself engulfed in darkness all except for a small light emitting from the night light in the corner of the white walled hospital room. Her tired eyes trailed to a clock sitting on the bedside table, whose red digits read 3:45 a.m.

Her senses returning to her, she found warmth next to her body and a weary smile appear on her face, her mind having registered and confirmed the source. Snuggling closer to the silver haired sleeping shinobi at her side, she carefully reached up and pushed back the shortened silver strands from his face, her keen eyes intently watching his masked face.

Her hand appeared to be caught in the cycle of repeating the tender action, although knowing the mess of silver could never be tamed. Sakura's smile grew warmer, her hand pausing, as she found Kakashi shifting in his slumber, turning onto his side toward her as if acknowledging her presence and asking to receive her attentions.

Her hand again fell on the silver locks as she continued to smooth them under her palm, while carefully removing the oxygen mask with her free hand with a small sigh of relief to be rid of the uncomfortable device. Her eyes softened when she felt him start to nuzzle, his head practically buried in the crook of her neck, causing her to stifle the giggle that was desperately trying to escape her lips. To think, if word were to get out:

_Hatake Kakashi: Cuddler – Extraordinaire._

His reputation would certainly be shot to hell and back. Sakura linked it to the assumption that Kakashi probably was never coddled as a child, having entered the shinobi lifestyle at the tender age of a preschooler. The expressing of one's emotions are not required in the ninja profession; therefore, leaving child prodigies with a sense of longing for the nurturing that had been nonexistent.

Not to say that Sakura posed as a mother to the copy nin; however, who better to try and make up for the neglect than a healer by profession? Plus—although Sakura would never admit it, perhaps inner Sakura would—she loved having an edge over any of Kakashi's so-called former love interests. Besides, who _wouldn't_ want to cuddle with the revered Sharingan Kakashi?

"Sakura-chan…"

She heard him mumble from the crook of her neck, his arms securely around her waist, while she kissed the top of his head before whispering her reply.

"Hai, Kakai?"

"I missed this," he murmured, his warm breath tickling her neck as he spoke and pulled her body against his own, like a child would his stuffed animal.

Sakura felt his warmth washing over her and sleep trying to overtake her once more, she brought her hand to his cheek and gently caressed it, her eyes closing…

-

The blinds opened, the sun's rays pouring into the room, three furry heads moved further under the hospital bed to avoid the light, as an elderly nurse with grey hair, twinkling blue eyes, and a wrinkled face gave a small chuckle. Her gaze shifted to the contrast of pink and silver peeking out from under the covers.

She awed for a moment, bringing her hand to her chest for emphasis, "I remember when I was young and in love," her voice causing the two human occupants of the room to stir, while she placed a covered tray on the table next to the bed, "Brought you some breakfast, thought you might be feeling better."

Sakura was the first one to rub the sleep from her eyes, her senses quickly registering as she felt Kakashi lifting his head from her neck. Kakashi give his bewildered kunoichi a happy eye crease in greeting and then turned his focus to their elderly spectator. All at once the elusive copy nin had a deer in the headlights expression in his visible eye and nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"Ohayo…"

"Don't you pay any attention to me young man," began the nurse, hurrying around the room quickly, "I merely was dropping off the young lady's breakfast, although I'm sure that there's plenty for two," she added with a wink.

"Arigato," replied Kakashi, watching the nurse, while sitting up in bed next to the pink haired medic who had turned a lovely shade of red.

"I'll leave you two alone, I'm sure that having your wife in such a state must have been a terrifying ordeal for you sir, but don't you worry I assure you that she's in good hands."

Both occupants gave each other an awkward look at the mention of the word _wife _and it kept growing stranger by the second as the nurse had to continue in on her assumptions…

"I'm sure that your children are going to be lovely. It's not every day you see a couple that is as attractive together as you two are," she carried on, conveniently missing the drooping eye of assumed husband and the dropping jaw of his assumed wife, "we'll get you out of here as soon as this afternoon if I have anything to say about it young lady, so you two can get on with _things_…"

Both watched in vain as the nurse's back was seen heading out the door; while the snickering of three four legged dwellers did not go unnoticed.

"Aa, that went well," commented Kakashi, watching as three furry heads appeared out from under the bed, "I'll be right back, you get started Sakura-chan," he added before standing and pushing the bedside table over.

"…R-right…" mumbled Sakura, watching as Kakashi disappeared into the bathroom and close the door behind him, before she let out a sigh and lifted the cover from the tray.

"Got anything good, Sakura-chan?" questioned the nin dog who flirted with her at any given moment, "I sure am hungry."

Pakkun hopped up onto the bed beside of her, his brown eyes watching the tray, as the third nin dog stretched coming out from under the bed with a yawn.

"I'm hungry too," she stated, her eyes moving toward the unveiled food before she involuntarily cringed, "what the hell?"

Three nin dogs leaned forward to get a better view of a few globs of goop sitting in individual bowls on the revealed tray before them. Each exchanging odd looks with the kunoichi.

"Uh, what is it?" questioned the quietest of the three dogs, sniffing the food and wrinkling his muzzle in response.

"I think that's supposed to be oatmeal," commented the flirt who received a, "I thought it was eggs," from Pakkun.

Sakura gulped and hesitantly took one of the provided chop sticks in her hand, as all three watched in anticipation, their eyes never leaving the blob their female master of sorts had chosen as a test run.

Kakashi opened the door to the bathroom, opening his mouth to address them; the words, however, would not come out as he watched the display in front of him. Sakura poked the chosen green blob…

"Aaah!" she cried, jerking her hand back, as Pakkun jumped in her arms with wide eyes, the other two nin dogs leaping back in opposite directions of the tray, "Oh Kami, did you see that?!"

"It moved!" exclaimed Pakkun, finding Sakura to be quite safe for the time being.

"Kuso, that was just wrong," commented the largest of the three dogs, hiding under a chair, while his companion on the left peeked out from under a table, "Sakura-chan, I swear it would have eaten the chopstick if you hadn't moved fast enough."

A sweatdrop appeared on the back of Kakashi's head, his visible eye drooping at the quartet before him.

"I wonder if there is anything on that tray that doesn't move?" questioned Pakkun, his stomach growling simultaneously.

Sakura held out the chop stick in her hand, "Be my guest if you want to test that theory."

"On second thought…" reconsidered the pug, rubbing the back of his head nervously with his paw and giving her a canine grin, "how about we see if we can find a local bakery with some sweets for Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's eyes lit up, "You'd do that for me Pakkun?"

"Well of course, Sakura," he eyed the unknown meal before them, "it's far better than eating the mystery of the day."

Kakashi walked over to the group and eyed said meal carefully, "Really Sakura, I'm sure that you're just imagining things, you for one work in a hospital," he began his rationalization, "surely the food is not that bad."

Without further prompting she passed him the chopsticks, four sets of eyes fell on the silver haired shinobi before them, all reflecting an unsaid _you try it_. He let out a sigh and opted for the eggs, oatmeal, mush before him, his eye creasing when it did not move, after securing a piece, he lowered his mask before bringing the chopsticks toward his mouth.

All eyes on the elusive and highly regarded copy nin of Konoha, it was now the moment of truth, his captive audience waiting with baited breath, the air so quiet that you could hear a pin drop…

Sakura sweatdropped and grinned nervously, while Pakkun snickered, and the other two nin dogs watched on in sympathy while their master was busy dry heaving and running his mouth under the bathroom sink facet, while overhearing certain obscenities fill the air, among them, _kuso _and when used in context it sounded a lot like _what in Kami's name is that shit?_

"So I guess we're going to find a bakery now. Sakura-chan, we'll sneak you in something good," informed the pug before hopping off of her bed causing the tray to accidentally fall to the floor with a bang as three sets of legs hurried backwards in an attempt to flee in fear of the recently moving blob.

-

It was about an hour later when a tap came from outside the window in her room. Arching an eyebrow, Sakura carefully slipped out of bed and peered through the blinds to find Kakashi waving from outside of the four story window, his eye creasing as he held up a little white bag in his hand. Carefully looking both ways fearing the wrath of hospital security breaking down her door at any moment for sneaking in real food, she quietly opened the window and let him in.

"What did you bring me?" she practically sounded like a little kid anticipating something wonderful to appear before her.

"Who said I brought anything for you?" responded Kakashi, sliding in through the open window, the grin on his face did not go undetected, however quickly faded when he assessed the situation, "and who said you could get out of bed and change into regular clothing?"

"I'm feeling much better Kakashi, and that sweet old nurse who dropped off _breakfast _and I use the term loosely, brought me this outfit. She said that I should look appealing for my _husband _at all times," she couldn't help grin and do a full turn around, "Am I appealing?"

He couldn't help but smirk from behind his mask his eyes trailing from her red button sweater hiding the bandages trailing her arms, her pink hair flowing behind her, to the mid thigh length black skirt, and lastly the black knee high boot like sandals that always adorned her feet.

"I found you _quite _appealing in the hospital gown," he commented with a shrug of his shoulders for emphasis causing her to roll her eyes, "not that I'm biased or anything."

"No, not _you_," she bit back a laugh and heard him mumble something roughly along the lines of, '_but I also think you look good in nothing too.'_

"Sorry Kakashi, but the only thing plaguing me right now is what you're hiding in that bakery bag," replied Sakura, reaching forward in an attempt to grab the bag from his hand.

Kakashi held the bag out of reach and took her bandaged hand in his own, watching her wince from the contact, "Sakura-chan," his eye softening as he said her name, "don't push yourself," he murmured, watching her emerald orbs.

"I'm not, Kakashi," she stated, a weary smile across her face, "I just don't want to be in a hospital bed, alright?"

He could see her eyes glazing over and her smile fading fast as she averted her eyes from him, the memories of her capture transparent on her face and replaying in her mind.

"Here," he gently called to her, holding out the bag for her to take, "sit down and eat, if you say you're fine then I have no choice but to trust your judgment."

Again her eyes focused on him as she slowly reached for the bag in his hand, however, her course of action changed when she held onto his arm instead and shot up onto her tip toes, closing her eyes and pressing her lips against masked ones. He felt a sharp intake of breath get caught in his lungs at her action, yet melted in her kiss as his free arm wrapped around her waist.

"Please trust me," she whispered after breaking their chaste kiss, leaning her forehead against his, "I promise I'm not going anywhere."

His arm tightened around her, "I trust _you_," he whispered before lifting his head and kissing her forehead with his masked lips, "but you have to understand that I just got you back _hana_, and the thought of losing you again..."

"I feel the same way, Kakai…" she murmured, knowing what words would have been spoken had they not died on his lips. She carefully wrapped her bandaged arms around his neck; however, a thought in her mind was left unspoken.

_I shouldn't even be alive…but to see Kakashi again is more than I could have asked for…_

Living up to her amazing ability to do a complete 180 in a matter of seconds, she quickly reached for the bag and exclaimed, "What did you bring me?!" before peering into the bag before her, "Manju! Strawberry flavored?"

She looked so hopeful in that moment, her emerald eyes practically shining over the sweets in the bag she held, as Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at her antics, his eye creasing before letting his hand rest on top of her grown out pink locks and rub her head, "Only the best for my girl."

As Kakashi sat in the plain tan cushioned chair, his eye couldn't help but stray to her form and observe how much thinner she had grown since he last saw her in Konoha and how she took slow bites of the confectionary treat in her hands savoring its taste. Her long pink hair cascaded half way down her back—the nurse had apparently given her a brush and a short red ribbon to tie her hair half back— falling over her right shoulder, her hitai-ate disregarded on the bedside stand.

_Pakkun's right…if I push her now, I really do risk losing her. Sakura's trying so hard to keep up this façade when on the inside she's a train wreck. At least Pakkun and the others are off investigating any leads on Iwagakure's happenings in the village. They should provide me with enough time to reconnect with Sakura, besides we still have 6 days before we're scheduled to meet Genma and the others at the border. I just hope that they've made it to Grass. _

-

"Naruto, get down…"

Naruto quickly ducked into a nearby shop following Sai's orders and peered out from behind one of the blinds.

"Iwa?" he mouthed, watching as his companion nodded in the affirmative and stayed still until the danger had passed.

"It would appear that we have underestimated how far they've advanced," commented Sai, he and Naruto now sporting civilian attire after their admittance into the village.

"Let's hope that the nin dogs managed to stay out of trouble…" mumbled Naruto, dragging his hand down his face, "I swear Bull has a bottomless pit for a stomach," he chuckled nervously as his own stomach voiced its opinion.

Sai couldn't help but shake his head, "Alright, we'll find somewhere to eat and devise our course of action; we still have 6 days before we are to meet with Kakashi and Genma."

"And Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, his blue eyes lighting up at the use of her name, even causing Sai to smile and motion for Naruto to lower his voice.

"Hai, in the mean time we'll need to remain as civilians, if Iwa troops have already infiltrated the village then there is no doubt that they will be informed somehow of the demise of their comrades."

"Understood, but first can we _please _get ramen?" questioned the next Hokage, his eyes pleading, "I saw a stand over there," pointing to make his statement true he couldn't help but sweatdrop.

"The ramen stand where Bull is currently mauling the cook?" good naturedly teased Sai, watching as his comrade's jaw hung open, "Oh well for staying under the radar."

-

A whistle rang out amongst the crowd as the senbon wielding shinobi now dressed in civilian attire alongside three dogs passed by one attractive woman after another, "I should have come to Grass a long time ago, who knew there were so many hot women?"

The three dogs exchanged a variety of glances, ranging from _baka_ to _does this guy ever think of anything past sex?_

The one whose leg he had fixed after their flee from Iwagakure stopped and growled, causing the shinobi and the two remaining dogs to send him a questioning glance.

"What's up?"

"It smells funny," stated the dog through grit teeth, watching as his other two companions began to sniff the air before nodding in affirmation.

"He's right, smells like trouble."

Genma's eye had just fallen on a rather attractive woman with long black hair who was currently sending him a wink, "Guys, can you be a little more specific when you say _trouble_ because I seriously am going to be in trouble if I don't get with this woman."

-

The old nurse had been good to her word as Sakura passed her check up before being allowed to leave the hospital.

"You seem to be progressing nicely," informed the middle aged woman, "your chakra control will return to your arms, just give it some time. I am going to let you leave here today; however, it is customary that you use a wheelchair upon departure."

Sakura's mouth opened, nevertheless, she was quickly cut off from any attempt to argue when Kakashi gracefully stepped in, quickly picked her up bridal style and shot the doctor a happy eye crease.

"Not necessary. I'll make sure that she gets out of the hospital in one piece."

The doctor stood before them gaping like a fish, this surely was not in the rule book. However, a quick elbow to her side from the romantic old biddy beside her caused the woman to sigh in vain, "Fine, fine…just go out the back door will you?"

"Will do," informed Kakashi before giving a slight bow to both women, "Arigato for your help."

"Oh don't you mention it young man, you and your wife go check into a nice hotel now," she quickly moved closer and tucked a hotel brochure in his vest pocket and put a hand to the side of her mouth as she whispered, "…and get started with the plans we spoke of earlier…"

The assumed _newlyweds _couldn't help but face fault as Kakashi took his leave with said wife in his arms, quietly exiting the room.

"Akane, when are you going to learn that not everyone who walks in here is interested in your advice?" chided the doctor, making a few red marks on the chart before her for filing purposes.

"You're just a prude," she waved off her fellow employee's comments, "no wonder you're still a virgin, maybe I should be advising you instead of them," cackled the old nurse.

-

"Kakashi, c'mon…this is _so_ embarrassing," commented Sakura, being carried in his arms through the hallway of the hospital and now into an elevator.

"Excuse us," politely apologized Kakashi, taking a free space in between a male nurse who was suffering from _can't keep tongue in mouth_ syndrome as soon as he got a glimpse at Sakura's legs in his view,

"My _wife _has just been discharged from the hospital so I figured that I would save having one of your wheelchairs in use when I can just carry her myself," informed the copy nin inwardly smirking as the male nurse quickly turned his attention elsewhere, while the pink haired woman inwardly snickered at the crestfallen look that appeared on the female nurse's face at the mention of the word _wife_—she had been not so discretely eyeing the silver haired shinobi.

Upon leaving the elevator and hearing the doors begin to slowly close behind them, the nurses comments went unheard _'damn, what a lucky bastard to have a wife who looks like that' _and _'yeah, she's the lucky one…'_

Sakura took out the brochure that the kind old nurse had tucked into Kakashi's vest pocket and opened it in her hand.

"Hm, Tanoshimu Hotel," the words rang from her voice flatly, "…oh and look at their slogan…"

"For a good time call, or just bring a friend," voiced Kakashi, his eye creasing, "well they're original."

"Let's see what else they have," commented Sakura, her eyes scanning the page, "Oh, they have king sized beds in every room, a fire place, and access to hot tubs—

"Look Sakura, they have room service and the bathtubs are big enough for two."

She couldn't help but face fault at his enthusiasm especially at his next statement, "There's even a coupon for 10 percent off!"

Oh _yeah_, they were _definitely_ staying at this hotel the coupon had sealed the deal. If Kakashi was nothing else, he was frugal—with the exception of Icha Icha related products.

After a little shopping—frugal not broke—for new clothing to help them better fit in, the two checked into the Tanoshimu Hotel. Their first impression, _correction_ Sakura's first impression probably would have been a little better had a couple not left looking like something out of French fantasy, apron, feather duster and all. Kakashi on the other hand, waved their 10 percent coupon in front of her leaving her no choice but to usher him along to the check in counter.

"Konnichiwa, my don't you two make a lovely couple. A room for two I take it?" asked the concierge, looking from the silver haired man before him to the pink haired woman taking in every aspect of the main room and carrying two large bags.

"Hai, my wife and I shall be staying for the next three days," commented Kakashi, leaning on his arm over the edge of the counter.

"And what name shall I reserve the room under sir?"

"Nakamura," informed Kakashi watching as the man scribbled the name down in his reservation book.

While Kakashi was paying for the room and checking them in Sakura's gaze couldn't help but look at all of the intricate…more like…_expressive_ details of the room—including a bar in the corner with two busty women flirting with a tall and well built bar tender in his thirties whose black hair was greased back, his blue eyes left his company and found their way over to Sakura who immediately turned her attention back to her companion who was busy haggling over additional services while they were staying at the hotel.

She sighed, her eyes shifting once more to scan the room, in the corner near the fire place she could make out a couple, her eyes widened and she could feel her face growing warm as she was knocked out of her stupor when her companion returned to her side and took hold of one of the bags in her hand.

"Ready, Sayuri?"

With a deer in the headlights expression she turned to him and with a forced smile stated, "Hai, Kantarou…"

Kakashi's left eye creased at her enthusiasm while his right remained closed, his hitai-ate like Sakura's had been taken off, as well as, any other fire country symbols so that he was wearing his jounin pants and a black fitted long sleeved shirt with his mask attached.

Apparently they had entered the village only a few days before a week long festival was due to take place. The helpful woman at the clothing store had stated that the entire village would be dressed in traditional attire, which had given Kakashi the idea to take the names of the two beloved characters from Icha Icha that he and Sakura had portrayed for the hot spring contest.

"Let's take the stairs," suggested Sakura, heading toward the red lit sign marked _STAIRS_.

Kakashi on the other hand decided that perhaps fourteen flights might be too much for his _wife _and opted for the second route, "We'll take the elevator, Sayuri," he cheerfully took hold of her hand, "And look no line."

Once the elevator doors shut Sakura turned on Kakashi with a glare, "You named us after Icha Icha characters?!" she hollered, thankfully they were the only two in the elevator.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously, "Well, it really isn't my fault…the outfits that we found are practically identical to the ones we wore for the contest."

"So you thought—

Her sentence died on her lips, their bags dropping to the floor, she watched him in lightning quick movements snake his arm around her waist, the palm of his right hand resting on the wall beside her head, as the elevator jerked and the lights flickered.

The red emergency light was the only one to come back on as both occupants listened for any movement when none came it was the female who broke the silence with a flat out, "I told you we should have taken the stairs."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing, you know," whispered Kakashi, looking down at the pink haired medic in his arms.

"How is this not—

Her sentence died on her lips as she instinctively tilted her neck to the side to give him more access to her neck after feeling the butterfly kisses his masked lips were leaving, causing her to sigh in contentment.

"…Kakashi…" she breathed his name, her eyelids closing at the sensations that were rising in the pit of her stomach, before opening her eyes, and taking his face in her hands teasing his masked lips with her kisses before lowering his mask and seizing his lips once more.

"…Sakura…I've missed you for so long..." he breathlessly murmured, his hand rubbing the small of her back, watching her emerald orbs study his motives.

"Eventually they're going to fix the elevator, Kakai…"

She tried reasoning with him, only to feel his lips upon her own again, her arms reaching around his neck as she pulled herself into his embrace, her legs wrapping around his waist with a grin of her own appearing on her face, while he held her, her back resting against the wall of the elevator.

"What? You're not the only one whose been missed," she teased, claiming his lips for her own, hearing him sigh against her kisses, "And to think, we're not even in a barn, _Kantarou_."

"To think we'll even have one up on Jiraiya, no one in Icha Icha to date has been in an elevator," informed Kakashi with a chuckle, grinning inside of their kiss and feeling her smile as well.

"Gives new meaning to love in an elevator, ne?"

-

When the elevator doors opened both its occupants couldn't help but blink at the vast amount of people standing before them. The concierge was the first to step forward, "Good heavens, I have no idea how the elevator broke down, I can only hope that you will still want to continue your stay at our fine hotel!"

Kakashi was the first to raise his hand in an attempt to silence the man, "No need to apologize, my wife is quite the _entertainer _we had no problem amusing ourselves."

Sakura could feel her face growing warmer by each passing moment, before feeling a gentle tug on her wrist as Kakashi led the way through the gawking onlookers, "Come along _Sayuri_, our room is up ahead."

-

"Well _Dickless_ this is going quite well, wouldn't you say?" questioned Sai, observing the wonderful turn of events.

"Hey, you haven't called me that for a long time, why the hell are you starting now?!" objected Naruto with a growl.

"Oh, I believe the occasion calls for it, considering how our plans of staying inconspicuous have now been shot to hell."

"Hey, this isn't _my _fault, its Bull's!"

"Uh _Dickless_…you might want to invest in a new pair of shoes…"

"Huh?" Naruto looked down to find one of the newest additions in their gathering lifting his leg and taking a piss on his shoe, "Ack!"

Sai merely shook his head replaying the earlier events that had led them to their current situation…

"_Gomen! Gomen!" apologized Naruto, pulling the large dog from the ramen cook, "You see we…uh…we're dog walkers!"_

_Insert classic random bird circling above crying, "Stupid" and note Sai's forced smile is more apparent than ever before._

"_And this big guy here got off his leash!" explained the blonde, rubbing the back of his head nervously. _

"_Aa, dog walkers eh? My family's gone off and left me with a few of our own. How about you walk them for me and in return I'll give you all the ramen you want free of charge."_

_Sai would have smacked his head or Naruto's if it hadn't been so terribly obvious, yet opted for looking at the small nin dog at his side who muttered, "Moron."_

_However, when the cook had said a __**few**__, they were in no means thinking that he meant a dozen…_

"Bull, slow down, you can't go in that bakery! It says no dogs allowed on the sign!" cried Naruto, being pulled down the street by the massive dog and six new subordinates.

While Sai watched on in vain _and_ embarrassment commenting to onlookers, "He's new."

-

"Find anything?" questioned Pakkun as the two dogs returned after scouting, skidding to a stop before panting and sadly shaking their heads.

"There are too many scents with all the festivities about to happen in the village that I can't make heads or tails of anything with Iwa's scent," informed the larger dog, and then a smirk appeared on his face, "Can't we go find Kakashi and Sakura-chan? I think I need a belly rub."

The third party member smacked the other one upside the head with his paw, "We won't be able to find anything until they've finished setting up. Then once the scents settle we might have a chance of determining Iwa's whereabouts."

"Understood," replied the pug, his brown eyes scanning the area, as people passed them by unaware that the normal looking trio of dogs—no evidence of the leaf village's symbol present—were actually well trained ninken, "Don't let your guard down, especially where Sakura is concerned."

Both dogs looked on with serious expressions, their eyes scanning the crowd as their leader continued, "If the captain was able to make it into Kirigakure undetected then more may be here as well. It will be our job to monitor any activity and to protect Sakura. Kakashi's too unfocused at the moment…"

"Pakkun," interjected the quietest of the three, "you shouldn't speak of Kakashi in that way."

"Pakkun's right. Kakashi's mind isn't clear, he's trying to be patient with Sakura-chan and not push her, but you can tell that not knowing what those bastards put her through is eating him up inside."

"The truth of the matter," began the pug once more, "we need Kakashi at his best if we hope to track Iwa's activities and we need Sakura's analytical genius to take them down."

-

With a nod in opposite directions Genma had been deserted, with the exception of the dog that had grown closest to him.

"You and I shall act as master and dog, while the others scout the area," he whispered to his new appointed senbon wielding master.

Genma grinned, his senbon bobbing as he spoke, "Then I say we go over and see that woman who keeps giving me the eye."

The dog discretely turned his attention toward said woman, it was the one with the long black hair who had been keeping her eye on them, before turning his gaze back, "Genma," he whispered, pawing at his leg, appearing to be a grand example of man's best friend, as his master bent down to pat his head, "that woman wreaks of Iwa—

"Hai, you're a good boy, aren't you?" praised Genma, patting the dog's head, a grin appearing on his face, "Smart too."

The dog nodded his head in affirmation and followed after the senbon wielder, making their way toward the black haired woman.

-

They had settled into their hotel room and shortly after changed into the traditional clothing that had been purchased earlier. It really was uncanny; practically the same attire they had worn for the contest had been presented to them for attending the festivities that would begin that night.

Kakashi fixed the top of his gi, the only difference this time around is that the texture was a mixture of black laced with silver, and black flats on his feet. He turned his attention to the pink haired woman standing in front of the large balcony window in the room, wearing a red kimono with pink lotus blossoms outlined in gold, a pink obi across her waist as was before, pink flats adorned her feet this time, however, her hair being held up in a twist by gold colored hair sticks, decorated with red beads was far longer than before.

Her attention was focused on the darkening clouds gathering outside and as the first few raindrops hit the window, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if the rain was an omen of things to come...

-

Alright, not as long as I wanted it to be but I have lots of ideas for the next chapter. Please run and review! I'm always taking suggestions to heart so if you have something you want to see, I'll do my best to make it happen.


	11. Memories

Author's Note: I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, but you see, I had some unexpected difficulties along the way, fell off my horse and sprained my wrist…but I did write down lots of ideas and I'm afraid that this chapter is going to be pretty short compared to my previous ones but I wanted to keep your interest and giving you something to read, dear readers, is far better than nothing.

Although it may not seem like it at first, there will be some happier times ahead for these two, they certainly deserve it don't they?

Current Inspiration: Kazuhiko Inoue singing 'Kurenai no Namida Hito yo' and 'Hyouryuusen no Amaki Kouka yo' which is drool worthy to say the least…his voice is so sensual…

-

"_How much longer do you think she can last?" came their muffled voices as they spoke of her, paying no regard to her current state, _

"_I don't know. It's hard to say, I mean, to date she's the only one to withstand the testing, compared to the others who died within days. I will say though, that her abilities are quite impressive. Somehow she manages to rejuvenate just enough chakra to keep her vital organs functioning."_

_I want to go home…_

"_Looks like she's conscious again," observes one of the medics, although all she can decipher is the fact that he's a man by his voice and height as he enters her blurred lined of vision. _

"_You know, I can't help but feel sorry for her, she's what? Twenty four at the most…"_

"_Quiet," chides her comrade, "do you want the captain to hear you? We know our mission is to gather enough information on all of the hidden villages in order to aid us in their downfall. By analyzing their medics it gives us an opportunity unlike any other, to use their jutsu and knowledge against them." _

"_Gomen," quietly apologized the woman at his side, she too was distorted in the pink haired woman's vision, "I guess, just as a woman and all…I can't help but feel something for her, I mean, look at how much she wants to live, it's almost a shame…"_

"_Yeah, I hear you there, but she's also the enemy don't forget and I'm sure that if the tables were turned she would follow the orders of her captain as well."_

"_Hai, I suppose you're right…" the woman sounded unsure for a moment but as she readied a syringe, taking hold of their subject's arm she couldn't help but smile, "back to work, it's a good thing that we put those chakra blockers on her. We wouldn't want another episode like the one we had yesterday now would we, Sakura? So please try and be a little more cooperative today."_

_No!_

-

"No!"

Lightning lit the room for a brief moment as the pink haired woman sat up in bed with a gasp. Her breathing erratic and her body shaking as her hands clutched at the fabric before her.

"Sakura?" questioned the startled shinobi at her side, now fully awake from her outburst, as his eyes adjusted to the poorly lit room. He could make out her shaking form and her ragged breathes fell upon his ears, as he slowly reached out a hand to her, gently placing it on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" came her venomous reply, as she felt his hand retract in an action similar to if it had just been burnt. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself in an attempt to shield herself from an unseen enemy, her tear drops being absorbed into the blue comforter before her.

"…Please…don't…" the medic nin choked on her words, as the bedside lamp was turned on, it's light illuminating the room.

Kakashi was at a loss for words as his eyes fell on the frame of the woman before him. Her shoulders were slumped forward and her bandaged arms held tightly around herself, her long hair had fallen over her shoulder to shield her face from his view, and as her body wracked with unheard sobs, he could see the comforter turning a darker shade of blue from her falling tears.

The normally stoic man at her side watched on in vain, turning his head from her, his eyes boring a hole into the unfortunate wall that had entered his line of vision. He had never hated his inability of consoling someone as much as he did now. What does one say in a situation such as this? Cheer up? Please don't cry?

…In the end, they are only empty words…and only time can ease the pain…

-

_Earlier…_

_The two walked arm in arm under an umbrella making their way through the busy streets. The rain apparently had no effect on the number of people wanting to partake in the festivities for the evening. _

_Sakura's eyes finally showed some real light to them as they stopped and looked at all of the trinkets each vendor had on display, smiling at the assorted brightly colored fabrics and studying each new and interesting looking food presented before her to sample._

_Kakashi closed the umbrella as they took a seat on a bench out of the rain and turned his attention back to the grinning female who was trying to decide which food to sample first. He noted that she had collected quite a variety and it appeared that she was busy questioning whether to have something sweet first. _

_He restrained the chuckle that wanted to make itself known as she decided on something sweet to start with, he watched as she took a small bite and how her eyes seemed to light up at the simple effect it had on her taste buds. _

"_Kantarou, you have to try this," she turned and held the sweet out to him._

"_Alright, Sayuri…" he obliged and lowered his mask, opening his mouth before sampling the treat, his eyes creasing, "Hai, it is good."_

"_Told you," she replied before taking another bite, "this is only day one of the festival and there are already so many vendors…"_

"_If all of the vendors sell sweets we might be sporting a few extra pounds when we return home," he stated with a chuckle, yet it softly died when he noticed her crestfallen expression at the mention of the word __**home**__. It was as though she knew something that he had not yet learnt of…_

-

But how long does one wait before that feeling of worthlessness eats at their very soul, and just how long can anyone endure the pain of another, especially one they truly love?

For once in his life the revered shinobi allowed himself to give into his inhibitions by reaching out and encircling the fragile woman with his arms before drawing her back into his embrace to rest in between his open legs, his chin finding its way to her shoulder in comfort.

"Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan…" came his silent plea, leaning his unmasked cheek against her dampened one and closing his eyes when she placed her hands on his arm in acceptance, "Gomen nasai for everything…"

"I thought I was there again…" she mumbled, her breathing becoming more even as she began to calm herself, her eyes falling on the room before her to confirm that she was safe.

"Shh…you're safe…" he began in a soothing voice, "just close your eyes and try—

"No," her soft voice took on a firmer tone, as she felt him lift his chin from her shoulder to get a better view of her, "I want to tell you, I need to tell you…"

Kakashi prayed that she hadn't felt his body involuntarily tense up and it didn't take the brightest of individuals to know what it was Sakura wanted to talk to him about, "Alright, Sakura…take your time…I won't rush you…"

Taking a deep breath she turned around to face him, so in a few quick movements the pair sat cross legged before one another. She tucked her hair behind her ears before meeting his gaze, "How much do you know?"

Here was as good a way to start as any and Kakashi's mind was still reeling with the events that had spiraled since news of Sakura's death. He began with telling her everything that had transpired on that day. He paused when he informed her of the mission report and how her teammates had made it back.

"They made it?" she questioned, almost in disbelief and then a small smile appeared on her face, "Hai, of course…I was too far gone anyways…"

"That was no excuse," his rigid voice interrupted her thoughts, "there's never any excuse to leave one's teammate behind."

"No, it's alright Kakashi…" she sadly informed him, giving his hand a squeeze, only to have her hand flicked away.

"Sakura, they _abandoned_ you, Izumo was only saved because he managed to find them, but your other two teammates never gave you a second thought, even after Izumo tried to reason with them before passing out," he angrily explained to her.

"I thought that…" she shook her head, "No it can wait, please continue Kakashi…"

He continued on to how he had left the Hokage's office and transported himself to her apartment, the emptiness he had felt, and when Pakkun had found him.

Throughout the duration of his tale she sat patiently only nodding her head in understanding and squeezing his hands with her own as if urging him to continue when he explained his meeting with Pakkun and the events that transpired once the team had been sent to Iwa to do away with the enemy base.

"I see," she stated, lacing his fingers with her own as she spoke, "Gomen nasai Kakashi, I know that if I had received word of your death…" she murmured, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she leaned forward giving him a few gentle kisses before leaning her forehead against his own, "I just really don't know what I would have done."

"I couldn't think straight Sakura," he started, eyes closed and forehead against hers, "I kept thinking there must be some mistake, you were due back any day and then word came that you were killed. I had never experienced a situation where someone's death had cut me so deeply; hai, I admit that with my team the guilt and the loss I felt will always be with me, but Sakura-chan," he lifted her hands with his and placed a kiss on the back of each of her hands, "the idea of never seeing you again felt like someone was slowly killing me inside a genjutsu."

"Gomen for your pain," she murmured taking his face in her hands and kissing his forehead in an action of sympathy, before leaning back, "Kakashi, you know everything from the mission report but let me tell you in my own words what happened that night," she started, taking another deep breath as if willing herself to go on and seeing him nod in response, "Izumo and I were in charge of obtaining information about the Iwa medics; however, I noticed that something was off in their observations so I took it upon myself to dig deeper and sure enough I discovered that Iwa was recording information on each of the hidden villages and their jutsus.

Now being a medic even I realize that you need to gather certain information on each of the neighboring villages, but the odd thing here was that there was _no_ information on healing, nothing. Pretty strange, no? It was all on warfare through jutsus and drugs."

"Aa, so that was when you and Izumo must have alerted your other members…" observed Kakashi, watching her nod her head in the affirmative.

"Hai, which leads us up to that night…we had barely gotten out undetected when Izumo and I shared the information we had taken from the captain's tent…"

"Is he the one who was at the hospital?" he almost regretted the question, hearing her hesitant sigh.

"Hai, he's the one," she answered, her head bowed and her fingers laced with his own, "what was in the papers we obtained were blue prints of the human body, indicating that experimentation had been done on several test subjects from the surrounding hidden villages in order to weaken them and give Iwa the overall advantage."

"Of course, with Iwa being estranged from the surrounding villages for so long its objectives would have been quite hidden," remarked Kakashi.

"Exactly," confirmed Sakura, "So we fled before day break and tried to get to the border but the captain was onto us, and we were attacked before we made it half way to the border. It was at that time that Izumo and I were separated…I'll skip over this part because you know that Izumo fell and I shielded him from the impact; however, what you don't know…" her eyes lowered, and he could see her relieving the memories within her mind.

"Sakura, you don't need to—

"No," her tone was firm, "I want to, I need to share this with you…"

He waited patiently for her to gain the strength to continue, and then her words filled the air once more, "Izumo left me stating that he would return; however, as time went on I realized that I was dying, I could feel my body shutting down by then and I somehow managed to summon Pakkun," she stated with a smile, "I couldn't help but think, how lucky I had been to have you in my life and how happy I was to share Pakkun with you."

He took her face in his hands and brushed her falling tears away with the sides of his thumbs, "I'm the lucky one," he did notice a small smile appear on her lips as she informed him that he was pretty lucky to have her and he replied that he couldn't agree more.

"Sakura, I don't understand how you can be here when Pakkun—

She placed a finger to his lips in silence and hesitantly started, "Pakkun didn't lie Kakashi, when I summoned him I was too far gone to really know what was going on but I was under the assumption that my team might have failed and my mission needed to be completed. All I can remember is placing my kunai pouch around Pakkun's neck and telling him that I would see him around. Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep…

"The next thing I recall is it's cold and I'm on the ground and gasping because I can't get enough air into my lungs fast enough and the voices are muffled and as my vision comes into view I can make out the captain and he's barking orders to his subordinates to restrain me and collect the body which appears in my line of vision when I turn my head.

"There's a boy whose face will forever be imprinted into my mind, he has dull blue eyes and shaggy brown hair, he can't be more than eighteen and I realize that he's been forced to perform the life restoration jutsu…" her tear drops fell to the comforter below, "he brought me back from the dead Kakashi," her voice broke as she began to choke on her words, "I have to live with that for the rest of my life, knowing that someone was sacrificed so I could be brought back and what they did to me in that camp…"

Kakashi's eyes widened when she straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck before he could even gather her up in his embrace, "Don't let them take me back there…" the broken woman pleaded in between sobs, "I can't go back there…"

His mind was racing about as rapidly as his heart but there was one thing that his mind couldn't forget, "Sakura-chan, _no one_ is going to take you back to Iwa against your will."

"They're already here in Kiri…I know it, they have spies and an underground base somewhere within the village, the captain came for me Kakashi because—

"Because of the papers, right?" questioned the shinobi as he watched her push herself back and meet his gaze, "Where are the papers now?"

Her gaze averted as if trying to rack her brain for the details, "I don't know where the hard copy would be," her eyes darting as she tried to focus, "I memorized the details and the rest is really jumbled Kakashi, but I do know that the medics had a copy of the details and the captain would have had the original."

"Where were the captain's quarters?" he prompted, holding the woman in his embrace as she searched her brain for the answers.

"In the tent attached to the medical tent where I was being…" she trailed off and quickly shook her head to clear the disturbing thoughts, "The medics copy would have been burned in the fire and the only copy…"

He watched as her eyes widened, "What is it, Sakura?"

"The only copy is locked inside of my mind. That's why the captain wanted to finish the job in the hospital because within my mind I hold every nation's medical weakness." She let the words register and then summed it up into a nice, "Whoa…"

"That's an understatement…but where is the captain's copy? Your team did not have the papers on them when they returned to Konoha."

"I'm not sure…"

-

"Genma, what are you looking at? What if that woman comes back and sees you reading?" whispered the dog at his substitute master's side.

"Not a clue, just some anatomy junk, looks like medic scribbles to me. Something I took when I was in Iwa before I got Sakura out," informed the senbon wielder, quickly folding the papers and placing them back in his pouch, before looking up to find his lady friend returning to their table with two drinks in her hands.

The dog at his feet let out a tired sigh, the woman was annoying enough sober, his optimism for her being much better drunk wasn't very high. And just what Kami awful hour of the morning was it anyways?

-

"We'll worry about that later, Sakura-chan," whispered Kakashi, his hand idly running through her pink tresses, the right side of her face resting on his shoulder and her arms securely around him, "for right now, know that I will protect you with my life."

Sakura couldn't help but smile, her eyelids growing heavier, "I've known that since I was twelve, Kakashi."

He waited until her breathing began to even out, his back against the head board as he held her, the only thoughts going through his mind were,

_I'm going to have to keep a close watch on Sakura, anyone could be from Iwa, a spy as she stated. But I can't do this alone, the entire village could be crawling with Iwa troops, looking for the ideal opportunity to finish the job they started in that medic tent. I just hope that Pakkun and the others bring me some information tomorrow…_

He once again let his hand smooth out her tresses, feeling the rise and fall of her chest as she slept and savoring the warmth radiating from her body. His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened.

_Let them try and take her from me, it will be the last thing any of them will ever do…after all, assassinations used to be my specialty…_

-

Read it? Love it? Hate it? Review!


	12. Through Their Heart

Author's Note: This is becoming a once a month update sorry to say. Life has just been so hectic; I seriously just can't get a break. I actually haven't had a spare moment to sit down and do anything, let alone write. Fortunately, if you will, it's a perfect rainy day so I've got my cocoa and my music and I'm planning to go to town with this segment. This is more like an intermission in the plotline then a chapter so it may not be as long as you all would like, but I'm sure you will still enjoy.

-

It was still early morning, he could tell that the sun's rays were just beginning to fall upon the village and its unearthly glow had just begun to appear through the blinds of the hotel room, but none of this really mattered to the revered copy nin of Konoha, as he lay on his side facing the sleeping woman in the bed next to him.

His thumb idly traced over the curve of her face, her soft breaths escaped her slightly parted lips and made their way to his ears, her long pink hair had fallen over her shoulder, and her peaceful expression had etched itself within his mind.

How long had he been basking in her beauty? He could hardly remember if he had gotten even a wink of sleep after her nightmare. His strategic mind had been working overtime since she had expressed her fears, _"Don't let them take me back there…I can't go back there…"_

She was begging him for his protection and he had confirmed that the same promise he had made to her and team seven when she had been twelve was still in effect. The emotions that her words had caused tore at his mind and his heart. He had never wanted more than anything to take away someone's pain as much as he had in that moment. It struck him that she was _his_ and in a sense he felt responsible for her happiness.

Kakashi carefully traced over the smooth skin of her shoulder, his hand halting momentarily as thoughts of what Iwa's medics were allowed to do to her within their base seeped into his mind. Not just what, but who might have been allowed to touch her. His eyes narrowed at the disturbing thoughts before pulling the covers higher, a smile washing away his disdain when the action caused Sakura to move closer and wrap her arms around him. He gently rubbed her back enjoying the way she murmured unrelated little tidbits about _warmth_ and something about _manju _in her dreamlike state, all the while holding him a little more tightly.

Today's goal was simple; he would leave the details of their mission to his ninken and give Sakura and himself a day unlike one they had ever experienced in their relationship. After all, he hadn't been reading Icha Icha since he was a teenager for nothing…

-

"Sakura?" he softly whispered into her ear, gently pushing away a few stray strands from her face, as he watched her shift in her sleep.

"Hmmm?" came her muffled reply as tried to bury herself deeper into his warmth.

"I ordered breakfast," he informed, running his fingers through her long pink tresses and placing a kiss atop her head, "are you hungry?"

"Mmmhmm…" came her _enthusiastic_ response, yet made no attempt to move from her current position.

He let out a small chuckle, "Sakura-chan, they didn't put it in an IV bag, so you actually have to be awake to enjoy it."

"…_Funny_…" commented the pink haired woman, as her eyelids slowly opened to reveal emerald orbs looking up at him, "you know—

Her eyes widened, now fully awake, as his lips locked with her own, and with a fluttering of eyelids, her mind finally caught up and she responded to his kiss; Sakura could feel the softness of Kakashi's lips as they moved with her own, his nose gently brushing against hers as they caught their breath in between kisses, and how his hand gently cradled the back of her head. Her hands rested on his chest given their close proximity and she could feel the beating of his heart through the form fitting black tank top under the palm of her hand.

Kakashi gently lifted her up into a sitting position, his back resting against the headboard of the bed, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved to straddle his lap. Sakura felt his lips move from her own and position themselves onto her shoulder as she tilted her neck to the side.

"…Kakashi…" she began, breathlessly feeling his lips rest on her shoulder, his arms tightly engulfing her form.

"Hai?" he questioned, equally as breathless, his chest slightly heaving from the quick change of events that he _himself _had orchestrated.

"You make me feel so safe…" she whispered, turning her head so that their noses gently brushed against one another's, her emerald orbs meeting onyx.

"I only want to protect you, Sakura," was his heartfelt response, his gaze piercing through her own so he could only see himself reflecting in her eyes, "Let me keep you safe," he informed, his finger tips lightly tracing over the curve of her shoulder.

She let out a sigh at his ministrations, her nose again brushing against his own, "Kiss me again?"

"You have to ask?" he whispered with a small chuckle as he watched a smile appear on her lips before giving into her request.

_Oh well for breakfast…_

-

"Kakashi?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me again, why we're dressed in traditional attirei and you're leading me down a street—I presume—blind folded?"

"Aa, about that…"

-

_Sakura stretched her arms as she came out of the bathroom now showered and full having managed to get to their breakfast before it had grown too cold. She had a towel wrapped around her figure and as she rounded the corner to pick her attire for the day, she couldn't help but notice a garment bag with a note attached._

_Sakura, please wear this today. I'll be back to get you in an hour, be ready. – Kakashi_

_She couldn't help but snort at the irony. Hatake Kakashi, asking her to be ready in an hour? Wasn't this usually the other way around? Shrugging to herself, she placed the note down on the nightstand next to the bed and proceeded to unzip the black garment bag before her. Her eyes widened as they fell upon a crimson kimono outlined with black satin on the edges, embellished with golden plum blossoms with intricate black leaves. _

_At first glance the medic merely thought that Kakashi had invested in yet another kimono for the week of festivities; however, as her flower arranging class had once told her, plum blossoms represent the joy of age and youth. Her face immediately faulted at the idea of Kakashi being influenced by his eternal bowl haircut rival. _

_She took notice of the clock on the nightstand and let out a sigh before taking the kimono in hand and disappearing into the bathroom…_

-

"How long do you intend for me to walk around the village blindfolded?"

"Until I remember where our destination is..."

"Nani?!"

A light chuckle followed, "Kidding…"

"You better be…" grumbled the woman at his side, allowing herself to be led around town like an invalid with her seeing eye dog.

"Aa, here we are!" cheerfully exclaimed her counterpart not a moment later, causing her to slam into him as he picked a wonderful time to slam on the breaks, "Almost walked right by it."

Rubbing her nose, after having walked into the silver haired mass before her, she looked about as menacing as one can blindfolded, "This had better not be a trip to any questionable establishments, Kakashi…"

"Even better—

"Oh Kami, it's a porn shop isn't it?"

"Your faith in me is so encouraging…" he informed flatly and let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping forward.

"Your track record isn't that clean, remember the contest you signed me up for without my acknowledgement?" she questioned, arms folded across her chest and tapping her flat against the ground.

A nervous chuckle was heard as he gently took her by the elbow and led her onward, "Then I guess you'll just have to come and see for yourself, no?"

She felt him guide her up a series of steps and through what appeared to be a hallway. When she had entered the establishment she heard soft murmurs and a familiar aroma invade her senses as she breathed in the appealing fragrance. They soon came upon a room, for she felt him push back a beaded door and lead her inside.

Kakashi's hand disappeared from her elbow as she felt him move behind her and the blindfold begin to lower from her eyes. Sakura's eyelids instinctively remained closed, waiting for permission to be granted before deeming it safe to open them. Her breath caught in her lungs as she felt his breath upon her ear as he whispered,

"Open your eyes, Sakura."

Her eyelids slowly began to open; she briefly closed them once more as her eyes adjusted to the light and then began to take in the room. There before her was a small black square wooden table about three feet off the ground, with a tray of utensils and two tatami mats laid out on opposite sides of the table.

The familiar aroma she had smelled had been tea; Kakashi had taken her to a tea house? Her eyes fell on a chabana flower arrangement before a hanging scroll and as her gaze shifted back to him wearing his black yukata with the same color crimson as her kimono outlining the edges of the fabric and black flats adorning his feet, she noted that he had even taken the liberty to disregard his mask.

"Kakashi, why are we…"

Her words trailed off as he took her hand and led her toward the table. She gracefully took a seat, sitting in a seiza position before the table and watching as he took a seat before her with an equal amount of grace.

No words were spoken as she watched intently as his hand took the rectangular red fukusa and folded it in half in the shape of a triangle, before folding the edges over and taking hold of the narrow bamboo tea scoop and wiping it with the fukusa in hand.

Kakashi's eyes creased as he noticed how intently his companion was watching him, arching her eyebrow every so often as if wanting to spill over with questions as to how it was he knew how to perform a tea ceremony. With Sakura's eyes fixated on the ceremony taking place he continued by setting down the fukusa with the tea scoop resting on top, as he picked up a small red tea caddy and slowly removed the lid from the caddy before gently placing it before him on the wooden table.

Sakura's gaze never faltered as she watched him take the tea scoop in his right hand, the tea caddy in his left and took one scoop of tea before emptying it in the black porcelain cup before him, softly tapping the side of the tea scoop against the edge of the cup to rid it of any remains before sitting both the tea scoop and tea caddy back to their designated places on the table.

Kakashi could only pray that he would remember how to do everything perfectly. He had only witnessed his mother perform the tea ceremony when he had been but a small boy, yet remembered the significance of the gesture to this day.

Sakura waited with baited breath as Kakashi's hand motioned to the bamboo ladle resting atop of the black iron pot, before taking hold of the handle and carefully dunking the base into the water and lifting the now filled container from the pot, gently tapping the bottom to free it from any water that had formed around the edges before placing its contents into the cup before him.

Kakashi tapped the side of the now empty ladle softly against the edge of the cup, his gaze lifting to meet Sakura's. Her emerald orbs were wide with anticipation, yet softened when his eyes locked with hers. A smile appeared on his lips as his eyes creased momentarily, before replacing the ladle on top of the iron pot and letting its handle slide between his index finger and thumb to rest on the edges of the pot.

He then took hold of the small bamboo whisk before him and placed it within the cup to blend the tea with the water, and once satisfied gently returned the whisk to the spot it had been. Kakashi carefully took the black cup in both hands—his left cradling the bottom, as his right turned the cup— and slowly turned it until the front of the cup was now facing Sakura. With an eye crease he carefully placed the cup before her on the wooden table and with a silent sigh leaned back, waiting for her to act upon the gesture.

Sakura's mind was full with so many emotions, not to mention questions. How did Kakashi know how to perform a tea ceremony? She was sure that it wasn't part of the Anbu exam. And did he really fathom the meaning of the ceremony? The tea ceremony in the Shinto religion is one of deeper meaning, especially when it pertains to two lovers. One look from him made her realize that he did, and she wouldn't fail to recognize his beautiful gesture to her.

Slowly, she bowed her head in acceptance before taking the sides of the black cup in both hands—her left cradling the bottom as her right hand turned the cup—and turning it until the front of the cup was no longer facing her.

She smiled before raising the cup to her lips and took several sips until the tea had been completely drained from the cup. She quietly lowered the cup from her lips, cradling the base in her left hand as she wiped the edge where she had drank from with her index finger and thumb. Then just as carefully, she took hold of the rectangular white fukusa before her and wiped her fingers on the linen before placing the cup on the table before her.

Complete silence fell over the table as emerald met onyx. The woman's eyes softened, fully accepting the gesture, and the man's reflected a sign of relief that she had done so…

His eyes widened as he watched her raise her right hand and release the red hair sticks from her hair and gently turn her head from side to side as her long pink tresses cascaded freely down her shoulders. Her companion let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding and lifted himself from his sitting position, placing his hands gently on each side of the table before him and starting to lean forward. The woman, mimicked his actions and only when they could feel the breath of the other's on their lips did they succumb to closing their eyelids and meet with an accepting kiss.

As they slowly moved apart it was the woman who ended their silence with a simple phrase, "_Watashi mo aishiteru."_

-

"Kakashi, this is amazing!" exclaimed Sakura, her smile widening as they stood before a waterfall with lush grasses and a vibrant array of color from the many flowers at the water's edges, a gentle breeze soon picked up, "How did you know this was here?" she questioned, turning around with a smile as petals from a nearby cherry blossom tree floated around her.

"I've been to Kiri a time or two," he informed, watching as her face became a scowl, "What's wrong?"

"Does that mean you were here with a girl?" questioned the sour looking medic, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Kakashi let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping forward, "No, Sakura. Whenever I had the luxury of coming here, it was always on a mission with Genma…and he manages to have enough women for both of us," he explained, watching as she arched an eyebrow in disbelief, "While Genma was busy _entertaining _himself, I would scour the area and one day I fell upon this spot, where I read Icha Icha Tactics volume 4…" he brought a finger to his chin in thought, "or was it volume 5?"

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Whatever," she stated in a carefree tone and with a shrug of her shoulders she fixated her gaze on the waterfall before her.

Her eyes soon widened, yet she kept her composure when she felt his arms snake around her waist from behind and his heated breath next to her ear.

"Sakura," his sensuous voice whispered, "Don't be jealous," he smirked when he felt her body tense at his comment, "I've only brought you here…"

"Promise?" her firm tone rang out and she heard him let out a sigh in exasperation.

"…Yare Yare…" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, "what do you say we go for a swim?"

The bewildered woman turned around in his arms with wide eyes, "Here? Now?"

"No, a week from now," teased the silver haired shinobi, already starting to undo his yakata from around the waist, "of course now."

Sakura couldn't help but feel very self conscious as she began to look around for any possible onlookers, her cheeks tinting a slight pink when she heard her companion chuckle.

"Don't worry Sakura, there's no one here," he watched her open her mouth and already knowing her too well cut her off at the pass, "and I don't see a sign that says that this _very_ waterfall is the source of all of Kirigakure's water supply, so we should be safe to take a swim."

If there was one thing the medic hated, it was being cut off when she was in the middle of protesting. She had no sooner turned around to advise him that if he was intent upon swimming than he could be her guest, when she felt herself be pulled backwards into his embrace. Her eyes widened instinctively as she took quick notice of the fact that he had rid himself completely of the yukata and was only wearing his boxers.

She closed her eyelids, while her inner couldn't help but express her very sentiments, _'Shannaro! It's always a losing battle with Kakashi!' _How right her inner was…

"Sakura?" questioned Kakashi, noticing how she had closed her eyes and was turning slightly redder than normal, before adding, "If you forget to breathe, you will pass out."

The medic nin quickly exhaled the pent up breath she had been holding and was about to retort when she felt his chin gently rest on her shoulder and his soothing voice begin,

"C'mon blossom, please try to enjoy yourself…I put a lot of thought into this day…I tried to think of everything that you might enjoy. The villagers say that the water this time of year is like bath water…"

"I am having a good time, Kakashi," she had admitted her defeat and in doing so apparently had just accepted his invitation for she could feel his hands skillfully undoing the obi of her kimono.

_There had better __**not**__ be any onlookers for his sake…_

Sakura closed her eyes allowing Kakashi to finish what he had begun yet couldn't help but snicker when she heard him observe, _"Yare Yare…why do they insist on so many layers?"_ She was already anticipating for him to say something along the lines of, _"Sakura, are you in there? I'll find you eventually…"_

Once the mission had been completed, Kakashi easily lifted her off the ground wearing only her undergarments and proceeded to head into the water.

"You're sure it's warm?"

"Hai…"

"Positive?"

"…Hai…"

"That doesn't sound too…Kakashi! Chotto matte yo! You wouldn't dare!"

The silver haired shinobi watched as her words died—rather, drowned—as the pink haired woman was submerged in water. She soon rose back to the top, already armed with an onslaught of obscenities for her _beloved_ when she felt sturdy arms wrap around her waist and hold her up, while she coughed up the water that had entered her lungs and nose. When her eyes opened and fell upon the object of her least likely affections, she started with, _"Yarou."_

"Such language," he began lightheartedly, however, the smirk on his face disappeared with her glare, "but now you know that the water is in deed warm."

Her eye twitched as she noticed his eyes creasing, he was really just trying to piss her off now.

"Mou ii!" exclaimed the irate female as she pushed away and started splashing, only to break out in a fit of giggles as she watched a stream of water shoot from his mouth similar to a water fountain, his normal gravity defying tresses weighed down and soaked with water.

"Yatta…" began the copy nin, two happy eye creases appearing on his face.

"Yatta?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow and then her eyes widened in alarm as she found a familiar gleam appear in his eyes, "No…you wouldn't…"

The gleam hadn't disappeared when she started distancing herself from him and then heard him exclaimed, "A Sennin Goroshi should do the trick."

"Chotto matte yo! Kakashi! You can't be serious?!"

_20 minutes later…_

She let out a sigh trying to catch her breath as she glared at her comrade who had finally opted to just give in to her demands…

-

"_Sakura, you know if you keep yelling you're going to attract the attention of the entire village," informed Kakashi in a sing-song voice as he watched her continue to try and evade him._

_Sakura immediately clamped her hands over her mouth and then quickly opted not to and return them to her posterior in an attempt to save herself; there was no way in hell that she was going to end up like Naruto had at age 12. At first she had thought better of Kakashi, thinking that he wouldn't dream of using __**that **__technique on her, but the gleam in his eyes and that evil, yes__** evil**__ aura around him was not encouraging._

"_Don't you dare, Kakashi," she whispered angrily, "don't you even think about iiiitttt!" she squealed when he appeared in front of her and screamed like the twelve year old girl she had once been when he first used a genjutsu on her._

_Of course, in reality Kakashi was merely enjoying making her squirm at the prospect of using the Sennin Goroshi on her…_

-

"Tired?" he murmured, catching her off guard as he had taken her into his arms in lightning quick movements. His hands running up and down her back, as he felt her hand in his silver locks.

"No…" she found her annoyance had already melted with his ministrations as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "You make me feel so safe…" she whispered, softly kissing his cheek, "but I feel like it's all coming to an end," she shuddered and felt his arms tighten around her.

"Don't say that," he ordered, yet his tone faltered, as he felt her apprehension, her legs wrapped around his waist, making it so she could look down upon him.

"Kakashi, it's only a matter of time…I love that you arranged this day for us, you're probably the most romantic guy I've ever met," she explained, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she took his face in her hands, "even if you do read porn," she leaned her forehead against his and let a small laugh escape her, "but we're both realists and we need to be realistic—

"Don't say it, Sakura," his voice was firm, "you will go back to Konoha alive, I'll make sure of that."

"Kakashi, I can't use the chakra in my arms yet and I don't know when I will be able to," she enlightened him, a sad smile on her face, "What good am I going to be?"

"Damn it, Sakura," he grounded out, turning and causing her back to lean up against the water's edge, as his mismatched eyes bore into her own, and noticed the silent tears streaming down her face, "Shhh," he whispered soothingly, "where's that fire that I love about you? Don't you know what you mean to me?"

"I know," she whispered, holding him closer and resting her cheek against his own, her hand massaging the back of his head.

"Then you know," his tone had taken on a harsher tone, "that I will kill every last of them before they are able to lay a hand on you."

"I know," she murmured before pushing back to meet his gaze, "but I don't want to be a hindrance—

She felt his fingers on her lips as he spoke, "That's what you're worried about? Sakura, I have never thought of you as a hindrance, you're the girl who nearly decapitated me when she was fifteen and blew me out of the ground during the bell test," he watched as a smile laugh escaped her lips and affectionately rubbed her head, "There's my girl."

Her attitude appeared to be more collected now as she let out a sigh, that simple gesture had always been so reassuring to her as a child, "Kakashi…the tea ceremony was its meaning…" she searched his eyes for the underlying meaning behind his gesture.

"Sakura, to me you are…"

She waited patiently for his words to form, yet he seemed apprehensive; therefore, she decided to take the initiative, "Kakashi…you're everything to me…" she murmured, taking his face in her hands and kissing his forehead first, "everything," placing a light kiss over the eyelid harboring the sharingan and letting her lips linger, "and I accept your affections, and I wish that…"

As if having heard enough, the silver haired shinobi, ended her words with a kiss, "Sakura, to me you are…"

"Yes?" she prompted, searching his eyes with her own with anticipation, holding his face in her hands.

"You are my only one…"

Kakashi heard her breath catch in her lungs as he continued, "In all my life, I have never loved anyone the way that I love you. And although you may think it, that's none of this is written in Icha Icha," he just had to get that off his chest as the two shared a moment of quiet laughter, "Haruno Sakura, it doesn't matter if we have a document or a formal ceremony. The tea ceremony today was my way of telling you, that to me…you are already my wife…"

Sakura's eyes softened in happiness, as for one of the very few times in her life she was rendered speechless. Yet the smile on her face informed him that she understood the meaning of the ceremony earlier in the day and she had accepted on her own accordance. Kakashi couldn't help but think that she had always been the most analytical of her teammates, so it was really of no surprise that she understood the full importance of taking her to a tea house.

-

Kakashi wrapped his arms around her slim form, noticing a small shiver wash over her body, after helping her dress into the beautifully adorned kimono that he had chosen, "Cold?"

"Not really, I just can't shake this feeling that something's going to happen…" whispered Sakura, looking out toward the setting sun.

"Let's go back to the hotel…Sayuri…tomorrow's going to be a long day," he had just insinuated, holding out his hand for her.

"Understood," she began, arching an eyebrow in acknowledgement, "Kantarou."

There was a change in the air that night and by the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes…

-

"_Ma'am?"_

"_Hold all of my calls; assign another medic to my patients. I have business to attend to."_

"_Hai, right away!"_

_A little old woman was nearly plowed over by one of her younger counterparts as she was rounding the corner._

"_What's the hurry young one?"_

"_Gomen! The doctor has a meeting; I need to assign another medic right away!"_

_She closed the door to her office, only to come face to face with a man who had piercing blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. _

"_You shouldn't be here; it's far too risky…"whispered the doctor, quickly crossing the room and pulling the blinds._

"_It wouldn't be risky if you had done your job in the first place. She wasn't supposed to wake up after she had been admitted into the hospital," growled the man, causing the woman to stop._

"_Hai, I know, sir…I gave her enough drugs to stop her heart but—" she began to apologize, only to be slammed up against the wall._

"_I won't be so easy on you should you fail me again, Kotori," he informed, his grip lessening, "You know how valuable a specimen that girl is to me."_

"_Understood captain Raikou...after all, I was the one who started the experimentations on her in the first place," she replied, removing her glasses from her face and smiling, "Although, I would never have expected that Hatake Kakashi would have taken such an interest in her…"_

"_I would imagine Kotori, with a little persuading we could render the two of them helpless in no time. After all, how do you kill someone?"_

"_Why, through their heart of course, sir." _

-

Love it? Hate it? Review Please!


	13. Intermission

Author's Note: I apologize that it took so long for an update, but I couldn't rush this segment because it needed to be perfected within my mind then typed.

Intermission: The Stage is Set and the Actors are Awaiting Their Cues

Sakura walked along side Kakashi as they made the journey back to the hotel. She had understood the meaning behind his words all too well and had felt a wave of unease wash over her until they had returned to the safety of the inner walls of the village. She found herself lost in her thoughts and her movements had become slower,

_I don't want to be a hindrance. I feel so helpless and...I'm afraid. I'm so afraid that Kakashi is going to be hurt because of how useless I've become...because of what they did to me..._

Kakashi immediately noticed the medic nin's change in attitude, she looked distant and torn between a frightened child and a woman on the verge of anger. His right eye softened in worry and he found himself reaching out his hand to brush her cheek but stopped. This was something that Sakura had to work through on her own, she had never responded well to pity or sympathy.

There were many things that he felt she had told him about her experience in Iwa; yet, he was certain that there were plenty of things that she had refrained from mentioning out of respect for his feelings. That's how Sakura was, she would hide her real thoughts in order to spare the person she loved, regardless of the inner turmoil it created. The shinobi did not know which would be worse, having to envision what the filthy bastards could have done to his lover_ or_ having to hear the encounter from her lips.

Kakashi was drawn from his thoughts when he felt a gentle hand on his arm, glancing sideways he watched as Sakura took hold of his arm and leaned the side of her face against his arm.

"Kantarou?" she murmured half into the fabric covering his arm and savoring the warmth from the close contact.

"Hai?" he responded, tilting his head to the side to see her emerald orbs look up and a small smile appear on her features.

"I'm tired of being afraid. I miss--er--" she smiled cutely, incase someone were to observe their interaction, "_Ramen Boy _and _Shishou. _Hell, I even miss that bastard who calls me an Ugly Old Hag," she added with the wave of her hand for emphasis and an accompanying small laugh.

Kakashi couldn't help but grin at her, "It's good to have you back," he commented, ruffling her hair and enjoying the look of contempt she gave him before her smile reappeared.

"And more than anything," she began dropping his arm in the process and coming to stand before him as they now stood alongside of the gazebo in the court yard outside of the hotel, "Arigato," she murmured before bowing her head with the utmost respect, "from the bottom of my heart. Gomen Nasai that I never thanked you before now for all you've done for me."

The revered shinobi was completely taken by her display, he nervously rubbed the back of his head noticing a few old women stopping to point and make comments, before taking the young woman by the shoulders, "Yare yare...what's come over you? You actually act as though I'd taught you something."

Her eyes were sparkling from both her amusement and her understanding, Kakashi was not a man used to accepting the compliments of others and to see the slight blush etched across his face was appreciation enough. "But you did, you taught me so many important things when I was a genin, you were my first sensei and I am so honored to have been your student."

Kakashi leaned forward with his classic droopy-right eye-and inspected her from head to toe before flatly stating in no more than a whisper, "Sakura-chan...are you drunk?"

"I try to pay you a compliment, and you make the assumption that I must be drunk?" she questioned, shaking her fist, her eye twitching, and looking menacing, "Kami, you really _are_ a baka!"

"Now I know my girl is back," he informed while dodging her fist, his eye creasing when he took hold of her fist, pulling her into his embrace and resting his chin on her shoulder, "You just took me by surprise is all, I always thought that it would be me thanking you..."

"...Kakashi..." she grumbled against the fabric covering his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Kakashi sighed, resting his chin on the top of her head, "Arigato for letting me love you, Sakura-chan."

-

"As you know," informed the Hokage as she stood behind her desk with a half empty glass of sake in clear view, "I sent team Kakashi out over a week ago and have not heard any news. I can only assume that the worse case scenario has happened and am sending in one of our top strategists to retrace the steps of Kakashi's team and--

The roaring voice of the Hokage and the words _Stop. Staring. At. Clouds._ _You._ _Lazy_. A_ss. _captured his attention. He let out a sigh before muttering, "_How troublesome..."_ As she bellowed in his ear the details of his mission.

"So I'm supposed to meet up with the second member of my team in Water Country? Sounds easy enough," commented the lazy Nara, "And the name of my chosen teammate? I can't imagine you'd be sending just anyone on mission as _sensitive_ as this..."

She tossed a large folder onto her desk and as the contents spilled from the folder across the desk the eyes of the genius widened, "My teammate is..." he trailed off before smirking and placing his hand in his pocket, "makes sense, after all who would be better to track Team Kakashi than--"

"You've got your details now get lost. You have two days to make it to Water Country!"

-

Sakura sat in her kimono on the edge of the window seat while awaiting Kakashi's return. He had mentioned something about food and checking in with his ninken and that he would return shortly so now would be a good time for her to rest. She understood why he was handling her like a fragile possession; however, she also understood the full importance of the situation at hand.

_Sakura, you need to clear your mind and get yourself together. Kakashi needs you, Naruto and Sai need you…hell, even Genma needs you…_

She couldn't help but smile at the realization that had popped into her mind. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Sakura had had several forebodings since her departure from Iwa, most of all was what the medics had hoped to gain by using her as a living experiment. She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind, yet as the tear drops hit her covered thighs she felt her body shake.

"_It's amazing; her chakra abilities are by far the most impressive of all the other subjects. Still I wonder how long it will be until her body shuts itself down…"_

A flash of lightning lit the room, as she turned her head to the side to view the scene behind her. The rain had started to fall from the sky like tear drops upon the earth, while the helpless cherry blossoms fluttered through the sky before drowning in the unforgiving pools of water below as the lightning silently etched across the sky.

"_I wonder Haruno Sakura, will your existence merely disappear when you draw your last breath?"_

The medic nin tore her eyes from the mesmerizing scene below and for the first time since her release felt a strange pulsation course throughout her body. She created a hand sign as she closed her eyes and breathed slowly inhaling and exhaling the air in her lungs as her analysis progressed.

Her eyelids flew open and she held her hands out in front of her and watch as they trembled, "How? The nurse said—

"_Don't worry about the chakra in your arms, we'll be doing a few treatments before you're released and then with proper rest you should be as good as new."_

"…but during my stay…"

_The doctor viewed the sleeping medic nin and the shinobi who was asleep, slumped forward in his chair with his head resting on the edge of her hospital bed. She smiled thoughtfully at the scene and quietly made her way to the side of her patient's bed in order not to disturb the room's occupants. _

_The doctor reached for her patient's left arm where the IV was currently in place, yet gasped when she felt a strong hand on her arm and met the gaze of the copy nin. _

_The doctor let the air she had been holding escape and smiled reassuringly, "I'm sorry if I startled you, I was merely trying to check her vitals."_

"_Gomen," replied the tired shinobi, dropping her arm before turning his gaze to the sleeping pink haired woman._

"…you don't check vitals through an IV drip…"

Sakura felt her heart begin to constrict painfully from within her chest as fear began to take over her body. She quickly stood, the lightning outside lit the room once more and created eerie shadows on the walls.

"They never stopped experimenting on me since Kakashi rescued me from Iwa's concentration camp…the doctor…"

The doctor's face flashed through the medic nin's mind as she felt herself weak, staggering to the doorway…

"_Please be more cooperative today Sakura-chan…I really need to finish my research on you before your body shuts down. You understand don't you dear?"_

The kunoichi fell to her hands and knees, the painful memories drowning her, as a glass vase full of daffodils shattered to the floor.

"_Say, she's quite a pretty little thing. You think I could have her when you're done?"_

"_Sadly, I don't think their will be much left of her once Kotori is done experimenting on her. Too bad too, I sure would have liked to have a night with her."_

"Stop…" she whispered to her reflection, "I don't want any more memories…"

"_My captain has this interest in you, did you know that Sakura-chan? No, you couldn't possibly know that, you're on the verge of death even as I speak. I don't know why my captain has invested so much time in you. Why his attentions were on you from the time you arrived in Iwa and not on me…no, never on me. No matter, you'll be dead soon; however, just to make sure you stay dead I think I'll give you a little parting gift…"_

_The medic nin's eyes focused in on a syringe making its way toward her arm and the face of the doctor smirking in what would be satisfaction, until an explosion rang throughout the camp._

The room was aglow from the lightning as the broken shards captured the suffering woman's face. Her long pink tresses had fallen from the hair sticks, her cheeks were tear stained, and her emerald orbs had lost their glow.

"_Yare, yare…looks like the lightning knocked the power out…"_

"_I hope you got something good to eat Kakashi, I'm starved…"_

The door knob turned and as the shinobi's right eye fell upon the room his breath hitched. Pakkun trotted in and took in the sight of the disheveled woman sitting on the floor in amongst shards of glass, the water soaking into the carpet, and the daffodils strewn around her.

"Sakura-chan, what happened?" asked her beloved canine, immediately coming to her side.

"Go-gomen…" she began, fumbling in amongst the shards until her hand was halted by the shinobi who had found his way to her side in lightning quick movements before she could cut herself.

"Sakura," whispered Kakashi, placing his hand on her head, "What happened?"

She shook her head and laughed miserably, "I tripped and I'm such a klutz, I broke the vase of beautiful flowers that you gave me, Kakashi."

"I've never known you to cry over flowers, Sakura," he informed while rubbing the back of her head, "What really happened?"

Pakkun gave his master a warning glance that even in the poorly lit room was evident enough, before hopping onto her lap and lifting Sakura's hand so that her palm rubbed up against his furry head.

Upon noticing the affectionate gesture, tears fell from her emerald orbs, as she pulled the dog closer to her, "It's nothing, the lightning startled me and I tripped when the power went out…" she murmured unconvincingly in a shaky voice, "You know me…"

"I do know you, and I know when you're lying," his tone was firm like it had been when he had taught her as a genin, "Now something scared you and I'm pretty sure that it wasn't the _lightning_ seeing as how you've been around _it_ since you were twelve."

"_Wow Kakai-Sensei! I didn't know you could control lightning? That's so cool! See Ino-Pig, my sensei is way better than yours!"_

Pakkun let out a growl of annoyance, and for the first time that Sakura could ever recall, watched as the dog challenged his master, "Kakashi, why don't you let Sakura-chan be? It's obvious that she's tired."

"Pakkun," warned the man, glaring down at the pug who sat on its mistress's lap, "It's important that Sakura tells me the truth if I am expected to help her. Wouldn't you agree Sakura?"

Pakkun felt a hot tear fall upon his front paw and hesitantly looked up to see the broken woman trying terribly hard to stay strong.

"Kakashi," she murmured her voice shaking, yet not faltering, "It was always a set up. Somehow Iwa anticipated your movements…" she took a deep breath, as more tear drops fell upon the pug in her lap, before regarding the copy nin with glassy eyes, "the doctor at the hospital, she's the one who…" her voice cracked, "_experimented_ on me."

The copy nin's eyes widened in alarm at her declaration and the pug remained motionless as he regarded the information—realizing that he and his subordinates had always smelled Iwa troops in the vicinity.

"_She_ never stopped, Kakashi," she seemed to be collecting herself, but her breathing was still quite erratic, "All this time, she was pumping me full of drugs to control my chakra and probably meant to kill me that night had you not woken up…"

The shinobi instinct took over the man, "Pakkun, get the others. You already confirmed that when Sakura and I were out earlier we were being followed. Iwa's informants already know where we are; however, we'll leave at dawn and head for Grass to meet up with the others."

"Right," replied the pug, "we'll guard the surroundings of the hotel," quickly disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Even if a shinobi's greatest weakness is showing his emotions, it was often a hard rule to follow in certain circumstances. He carefully scooped up her form and felt her arms wrap around his neck before carrying her over to the window seat and taking a seat with her back leaning up against the front of his body, sitting in between his legs as they gazed out across the village.

"Kakashi," whispered Sakura, turning her head to the side to their noses brushed up against one another's as he pulled his arms tighter around her, hearing a _Hm_ in reply, "Thank you for letting me love you…"

A cherry blossom danced in a pool of water, reflecting the lightning as it etched across the night sky…

-

How long had she been lying on the cold damp ground? She honestly couldn't remember but her limbs ached and she felt as though she were surrounded by nothingness. There was no sound, the faint chakra signature of the captain lying nearby, but there was no _Kakashi_. She couldn't remember anything between their departure from the village and her present state, yet figured that it must have been a result from the impact.

Her eyelids kept fluttering as she found herself moving through the realm of consciousness and unconsciousness. Eventually she had succumbed to her dreams, silently praying that she would awaken before the captain…

Within her dreams a previous scene played out before her like a movie on a movie reel…

-

_Everything had happened so quickly. The ground that the captured medic nin and the captain had been standing on had let go with a violent quake. The young woman's emerald orbs widened in alarm and the hand that had been covering her mouth had been forced to give way with the jolt, yet her cries were of no use for the crashing of rock had drowned all sound and they found themselves thrust backwards._

_She could now barely make out the once visible lightning through the cloud of dust that had risen, and it was as though the world had forgotten to move, for through the noise of the crumbling ledge and the land sliding down the mountain side a faint calling echoed. _

_She had determined that the word had been her name, but even with the loosening hold of the captain, her body still remained incapacitated, and in a desperate attempt she held out her right hand, reaching for the presence hidden behind the clouds of dusty earth. _

_However, sometimes it is hard to comprehend life, especially when your eyes fall upon the face of the one you love and it appears that Kami has smiled upon you today by sending you a savior. Unfortunately, we cannot always understand the nature of a Kami and as her finger tips brushed against his in a futile attempt at grasping onto the fragments of her life that were slipping away, the earth that he was standing on gave a shudder and within the painstakingly slow moments that it took to regain his footing she had fallen into the dark abyss below the mountain._

-

The medic nin's senses were coming alive with the sound of a struggle, the crunching of earth beneath their feet and the clash of metal ringing throughout the forested area. She could hear the fallen body hit the forest floor and the panting breaths of the victor.

The saturated earth squishing beneath the weight of the victor's feet as they made their way toward her. Her mind cried for her to move or at least open her eyes but her body would not listen to her mind's pleas.

She could feel the shadow of the figure leaning over her, yet there was softness in the touch that must have brushed a fallen strand of hair from her face. Her mind had been occupied by the unknown victor that her body tensed to find herself being cradled in a comforting manner surrounded by warmth. She had determined that the side of her face was now leaned against the softness of fabric and the smell of smoke from a still lingering fire was evident as it invaded her senses.

But whose voice was it that was repeatedly saying her name with urgency? It was rough but it held an underlying emotion that only she could detect. The medic nin's hand clasped around the fabric of her savior's shirt as realization dawned on her. The smell of smoke, the fire, the way he had spoken her name.

Tears ran down her cheeks as eyelids lifted to reveal emerald orbs gazing upward into a pair of onyx eyes that she would recognize whether in reality or in her dreams.

"Sasuke-kun…" she murmured, her throat was so dry that it hurt to speak, but as the tears continued to cascade down her cheeks, her hands were fumbling to keep hold of his shirt afraid that he may disappear.

The raven haired shinobi looked down upon the kunoichi seated safely in his lap, his arm securely around her shoulder, as his free hand absentmindedly pushed a piece of stray hair from her face.

-

_He could remember when he had gotten the mission brief from his lazy partner. All he had been told was to await for a messenger to arrive. The details of the mission had been a complete secret but as he read the scroll in hand he suddenly remembered a time when he had been but a genin on team seven._

_The words he had spoken to his teammate:_

"_Naruto, listen to me…you have to save Sakura, if it's the last thing you do. Once you've got her, I want you to take her and flee as fast as you can. It's all up to you. I can hold him here a little longer; if it ends here it just means that this is as far as I was meant to go. I lost everything once; I don't ever want to have to see that again—my trusted comrades falling right in front of me." _

_He hadn't been there. Haruno Sakura, probably the only girl that he had ever put his trust in was gone. The sharingan appeared in his eyes, his temper flaring as he read the failed mission report, Sakura's last words and even Pakkun's account of her death._

_His partner watched as the paper of the report crumpled beneath the weight of his clenched hand._

_The ANBU captain had lost track of time and now like sands slipping through an hour glass time had run out._

-

"_Do you see anything?" questioned his lazy companion, stopping to catch his breath._

_They had been tracking Team Kakashi and had followed a lead to Kiri in hopes of intercepting them. Overall the two weren't a bad team, with the Nara's mind and the Uchiha's sharingan the two had managed to retrace the steps of the latter's former team._

_Shortly after dawn they had arrived in water country at a hotel that was said to have housed a pair of traveling guests. The mess of silver hair and built of the man described was a dead ringer for his former sensei. _

_It was the Nara for formulated the idea that Kakashi would have headed for Grass to meet up with the remaining teammates. They had no doubt been separated somewhere in Iwa and had taken separate paths to deter any pursuers. _

_The sharingan wielder looked out across the area, his eyes scanning for any chakra, "Not yet. Kakashi couldn't have gotten too far, he only had an hour or two lead at most."_

"_You're assuming that he may have been hurt, Sasuke," explained Shikamaru, perched on a tree branch scouting the area, "Normally, Kakashi's faster than both you or myself."_

"_True, but why else would he have spent so long in water country? It doesn't make sense," commented Sasuke. _

"_Perhaps he wasn't alone?" offered the genius with a shrug._

_-_

_They had finally caught up with Kakashi after several hours of running. But it wasn't Kakashi's chakra, nor was it the potential enemy, but the chakra of another that made his eyes widen and the barked out orders of "Go and aid, Kakashi. I'm going to check out something!" were the last thing the genius heard as the sharingan wielder disappeared from view a moment later._

-

"Sakura," he began, watching as the dam appeared to have burst as her tears flowed freely at the mention of her name, "Sakura, you are the _most annoying_ girl that I have ever known."

Her eyes widened and for a moment she was afraid to breathe for his voice had been so quiet, "Thank Kami you're alive."

She closed her eyes and cried, wishing that she had it in her to laugh at his pitiful attempt to be consoling, but it meant more to her than he could ever imagine.

-

_The genius recalled being just as dazed as the silver haired shinobi before him as they both looked below the cliff toward the forest's canopy._

"_Sa-Sakura?" he was truly floored by the older man's comment, "She…" Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, "That must have been why Sasuke ran off so quickly."_

_Kakashi's visible eye widened, "Sasuke?"_

"_Hai, we were tracking you and then—_

_A place within the forest appeared to become aglow with flames. Yet as the rains fell their beckon soon dissipated with mist._

Now they had too much ground to cover for the forest was vast and the scent had been ruined from the water. The pug sadly shook his head, but it was Shikamaru who offered a _comforting_ phrase,

"Don't worry Kakashi, if she's with the Uchiha you'd have a better chance of having Naruto give up his last cup of ramen, than Sasuke giving up Sakura to anyone."

If it was meant to be comforting, why was it that the shinobi felt as though there was a hidden meaning within the sentence?

-

Alright, the final act is coming. And don't be all crabby with me because I included Sasuke within this story. One must accept their past in order to embrace their future. Besides, it was only fitting that Sasuke be the one to save her, after all he was a member of Team Kakashi and was the other piece of the puzzle that helped form Sakura into the amazing kunoichi she is today. For our emotions are what makes us stronger and Sakura's love for Sasuke _and_ Naruto was why Tsunade accepted her as her student.


	14. Prelude

Author's Note: Thank you for all of your encouraging reviews. As always, I'm amazed by the positive response that this story generates. It's really inspiring. This chapter is the start of different POVs incorporated. So let's proceed for the final act is upon us…

-

_Prelude to the Storm: _

_Of First Loves and Confessions_

-

_Somewhere along the way I must have fallen asleep…_

The last thing I remember is finding myself alive after the fall and at the mercy of a possible enemy who had disposed of the captain. Yet the warmth of his touch and the smell of smoke lingering on his clothing were the positive enforcers that put my mind at ease, and when my eyes gazed into onyx orbs I felt my breath catch in my lungs for I would have recognized him anywhere.

For those were the eyes of my first love…

They say that one never truly forgets their first love, that he or she will always hold a special place within their heart. I believe this to be true in all aspects. How many years had it been since Sasuke-kun and I had been a couple?

It had been due to the combined effort of Team Kakashi that we had been able to bring Sasuke-kun back to Konoha. We were seventeen at that time and I recall feeling as though we were already too late for there were so few signs of the boy that I had once loved, that I feared Orochimaru had already managed to destroy him from within.

At the time, I believe that my feelings for Sasuke-kun were that of a friend. I had grown up under the tutelage of Tsunade Shishou and my intentions for finding him were that of a deeper understanding, an unconditional love. I realized that I shared the same feeling for Naruto. At that time, I wouldn't have said that my love for Kakashi was unconditional…he did keep us waiting around a lot, pay for his meals, and ditch us after missions to read porn.

But somewhere along the way, whether it was due to Team Kakashi dinners or the fact that Tsunade Shishou had designated Naruto and me as Sasuke-kun's official _babysitters_, I fell in love with Sasuke-kun. Not to say that I didn't love him as a genin, but this was a love that had come from adversity, and the most amazing thing of all was Sasuke-kun loved me too.

To Uchiha Sasuke I was Haruno Sakura. It didn't matter that I had a large forehead or an even larger temper, that I could pound Naruto with little to no effort or that I was the third best medic nin in the entire village. Sasuke-kun always saw the real me no matter how poorly lit a room might have been, his eyes never failed to notice me.

And in return, I saw the real Uchiha Sasuke. The boy who wanted to protect all those he held dear, for his greatest fear was reliving his clan's massacre. I always promised myself that I would never leave him alone. And the few small smiles that were only reserved for me were gratitude enough.

Sasuke-kun was never really any good with words; he believed that actions always spoke louder. And I could never argue with his logic especially when he would take me into his arms, all the things he wanted to tell me would die on his tongue, but somehow I always understood.

I wanted nothing more than to be the one who could heal his heart, but after three years I began to notice that although he had managed to achieve his first goal of avenging his clan members' deaths, he was not content being a jounin within the hidden leaf village.

"_No, Sasuke-kun," she sadly shook her head, "I want you to take this assignment. You're going to do great in ANBU."_

"_Sakura?" he questioned, reaching out his hand, grasping her wrist and pulling her forward into his embrace, "Why are you telling me to leave?"_

"_Because I know that your heart wants to be free—_

"_Free from what, Sakura? The village? You?"_

_He brushed the tears away from her cheeks with the side of his thumb, "Sakura, I want to leave this village, but not for power. I want to seek out something much more important, I want to aid Konoha in the best way I can, by protecting it from its enemies."_

_Glassy emerald eyes looked up into onyx orbs as his hand lifted her chin, "I want to protect you. Sakura, I won't go on this assignment if you don't want me to."_

At the age of twenty, I did the hardest thing that I had ever had to do. I told a lie to someone I love. I let Uchiha Sasuke believe that I had fallen out of love with him and the response was just as I had planned it to be, he _left_. My Sasuke-kun had become an ANBU Captain and I had done the greatest thing that I possibly could have. I set him free because I could have never brought myself to admit that I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want him to leave _me_.

That Fall I joined the new Team Kakashi consisting of Naruto, Sai, and me. I was heartbroken over my loss, but knew that I had to go on. That's why Tsunade Shishou placed me with my former teammates. It felt so good to be back on a team with Naruto and he was just as comforting as before, trying to avoid the name of the _Teme _as he said and always managing to make me laugh.

It was one of our first missions that Kakashi and I had paired up against our enemy. I'll never forget that moment for as long as I live…

_She tried to catch her breath as she stood in front of him, realizing that he was in no shape to continue and hoping that no more assassins would appear before them, therefore, giving her just enough time to heal him. She slowly turned to face his form sitting before her as she slowly fell to her knees. _

"…_Sakura…" he whispered, his entire body felt like it was going numb, he knew that he would be of no aid to her now, and the gash he had endured from an earlier impact was bleeding profusely causing him to find it hard to focus on the pink haired woman in front of him. _

"_Hai, Kakashi…" she responded, slowly crawling to his side as she placed her hand gently on his stomach, seeing so much blood before her hardly fazed her anymore, she had had much practice in the hospital in Konoha, medic-nins were in such short supply. _

"_Sakura, you should go and find Naruto and Sai," he stated weakly, trying to focus on her face, when he did he managed to find a sea of emotions in her jade eyes as she gently pulled him forward to rest his chin on her shoulder, he could feel her right hand on his stomach, while her left hand remained on the back of his head, her chakra slowly making its way into his body._

"_I won't leave you, Kakashi," she firmly whispered, her fatigue evident in her voice, yet she managed to hold onto him and continue to let her chakra flow into him. _

"_Sakura, you may not have a choice…if you stay…we're both sitting around waiting for an attack," he tried to reason with her, "plus your chakra level can't be too high, you should retain it for—_

_Sakura whispered something into his ear that caused his eyes to widen in response, "Like I would ever leave someone as important to me as you behind, you've got to be joking. So please just stop talking…" her eyes were becoming heavy but she had almost gotten the bleeding to stop, the least she could do would be to give him enough of her chakra to protect himself._

I had just lost Sasuke-kun; there was no way that I could give up on another member of my family. Sai I might have sacrificed depending on the day, but my porn reading former sensei? It just wasn't an option.

So back to the present, imagine my surprise to find my first love coming to my rescue when all hope appeared to be lost.

Now don't believe that in amongst my musings I have forgotten about Kakashi. The reason why I haven't mentioned him thus far is quite simple really—seeing Sasuke-kun has popped the cork off of my emotional bottle.

I never set out to fall in love with Kakashi. It really was the furthest thing from my mind, what started out as friendship just grew stronger.

_I'm in love with Kakashi, but I love Sasuke-kun. _

I want them both to be a part of my life. I want to shake my head when Kakashi _forgets _a date and is found reading Icha Icha, and I want to smile when Sasuke-kun out does Naruto at something as simple as _Roe Sham Bo_, which I swear they learned from observing Gai and Kakashi.

_It's truly amazing the things that the mind thinks of when asleep…_

"Are you awake, Sakura?"

My eyelids flutter at the sound of his voice and I find that I am being carried on his back, my arms wrapped around his neck and the side of my face resting on his shoulder. My clothes are still damp from the earlier storm, but I still smile savoring the feeling of having Sasuke-kun back in my life. But then reality comes crashing down upon me and I know that if we are to stay alive we still have a long ways to go.

-

"_Hai, Sasuke-kun."_

I watch as she tilts her head to the side to look upon me and can't help but smirk. Sakura always looks like a sleepy child whenever she awakens, and the tightening of her arms around my neck doesn't go unnoticed either.

But now is not the time for making jokes, I need her at her best, and something tells me that Sakura is far from being alright. Something _obviously_ happened in between Pakkun's account and the delivery of Sakura's letter to Tsunade. The dog was one of Kakashi's best; how could he have misread the signs of death?

And the fact that she was traveling alone with Kakashi…

Kiri would have been the closest to Iwa; therefore, when they found her, she must have been badly hurt and Kakashi being the fastest of the group would have had no choice but to separate from the group to deter any pursuers.

"_Ne, Sasuke-kun?"_

-

He's doing it again. Sasuke-kun's putting the pieces together with that calculating mind of his. I really don't know why Ino brags about Shikamaru being such a genius, when it's obvious that Sasuke-kun is just as smart. Besides, if Shikamaru's such a genius why can't he realize that he's in love with my blonde haired best friend?

-

"Hn?"

She let out a sigh, for he was just as talkative as always and smiled, "How did you know where to find me, Sasuke-kun?"

"I didn't," replied the shinobi carrying her on his back and leaping agilely from tree branch to tree branch, "I thought you were dead Sakura."

The medic nin noticed how his voice dropped and gently tightened her arms around his neck, "I _was_."

If she had been on Naruto's back they would have surely missed the tree branch. But since she was with Sasuke she deemed it safe to speak (that and the look on his face threatening that she had better be planning to elaborate) as they came to an abrupt halt on a tree branch.

-

It appeared that the rain clouds were closing in again overhead as they sat on a tree branch in companionable silence, their legs dangling over the side.

"I never thought I would see any of my loved ones again, Sasuke-kun," she commented, looking down at the damp ground below.

"So the captain made one of his subordinates…" began the sharingan wielder, trying to appear aloof but the clenching of his fist against the bark of the tree branch cracking under his weight.

"Hai…" she murmured sadly, "That boy is dead because of me—

She gasped, feeling his hand latch around her wrist and emerald met onyx as he explained his actions.

"Don't," ordered Sasuke, his grip on her wrist lessening, "Don't _do that_, Sakura. You always blame yourself for the actions of others," he dropped her hand and looked away, "It wasn't your fault."

The medic nin couldn't help but smile, before taking hold of his hand, "Arigato, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

Was his distant response but the softening of his gaze made it known that he really did care.

-

We were on our way to Grass. As I had suspected Sasuke-kun had pieced together all of the pieces of the puzzle and we had agreed that Kakashi and Shikamaru would come up with a similar alternative. It was pointless for us to backtrack and Sasuke-kun had already assured me that Kakashi would be alright.

I didn't want to be a burden to Sasuke-kun and feeling that my strength had returned had taken to leaping along side of him.

"_What did they hope to gain?"_

His question didn't come as a surprise to me. In all the years that I have known him, I've prided myself at usually being on the same page as Sasuke-kun.

"The captain felt that my knowledge of medical ninjutsu would aid Iwa in its goal of destroying the other hidden villages."

"Is that where the scroll comes into play, Sakura?"

"Hai. The scroll depicts the strengths and weaknesses of each of the hidden villages' vital points within medical ninjutsu. The blue prints were confiscated when I tried to escape with my team from Iwa. The original copy would have been in the captain's quarters on the night that Team Kakashi ambushed the camp; however, since that time they are among the missing. The captain pursued me to Kiri because within my mind I hold the strengths and weaknesses to all of the hidden villages' medical ninjutsus."

-

_Uchiha Sasuke_. Of all the people to be with Sakura at this moment, he would be my first candidate. Only after Naruto, is Sasuke one of the best choices for caring for her. However, even though the logical side of my mind informs me of this information, the rational side is giving off a blinking red neon sign in large letters stating _Danger_.

_Uchiha Sasuke_ is the third link to the original Team 7. My team of misfits if you will an avenger, a hyperactive knucklehead, and a highly intelligent love sick girl. It was due to the third member that the other two were always striving to become stronger. In the end it was because of their desire to save Sasuke, not only from Orochimaru but from himself, that the two were trained by the remaining Sannin.

In the end each of my students were guided by one of the legendary Sannin from the hidden leaf village. An honor that was quite rare to come by. But unlike their predecessors, Naruto and Sakura were able to save the third member of their team.

Sasuke was returned to Konoha at the age of seventeen by the collective forces of our entire team. It was then that Tsunade requested that we _reintroduce _Sasuke to the hidden leaf village. I believe after the resentment faded Sasuke was finally able to see that the feelings that Naruto and Sakura shared for him were unconditional.

Shortly after we had retrieved Sasuke, I returned to ANBU but whenever I returned home it was always easy to weasel news out of the hyperactive blonde by buying him a bowl of ramen. It was in between mouthfuls of ramen (and tuning out the useless bits of information) that he would metaphorically _spill the beans_ and tell me how Sakura and Sasuke were both progressing. Not to mention, the hidden innuendo of _you know what I mean._

I felt that if anyone could heal Sasuke it would be the glue of our team—Haruno Sakura. That's why upon returning from my last year long mission with my ANBU squad, I was entirely surprised to find that Sasuke had been promoted to the ranks of an ANBU captain and had left the village indefinitely.

No matter how many bowls of ramen I bribed Naruto with; I never could get the truth out of him. Perhaps Sakura had threatened him? Maybe it had been Sasuke? However, I wasn't able to pay much thought to it for that Fall I was ordered—I say _ordered_ instead of _requested _because Tsunade never gives an option— into regrouping with my former teammates (Sai included) by Tsunade.

Even after all this time, I never questioned Sakura about her relationship with the Uchiha. I felt it to be neither my place nor the right time to question her about something so personal, and in return she never mentioned his name outside of our conversations of times when they had been a genin under my care.

-

"Oi, Kakashi!" hollered Shikamaru, letting out a sigh, "We should probably stop, we still have two days before we reach the boarder. Don't worry; the Uchiha will stop for camp, if he hasn't already, what with the storm clouds moving in once more."

"Agreed," replied the shinobi, looking down at his faithful pug, "Pakkun, you and the others find a secluded area for us. It looks like we're going to have quite a storm."

-

Alright, please review. Sorry about any mistakes but I've already worked 52 hours this week and I have 24 to go. I've been very stressed lately planning my parents anniversary party and finishing this scrapbook from hell. Party is on the 9th of March and I will be so happy when I give them the scrapbook, shove some cake in their face and say 'Congratulations on your 25th Wedding Anniversary!' -sigh- Then I can get back to my stories…for I cannot seem to muster up enough creativity for both projects.


	15. Torn

Author's Note: For some reason FF likes to copy the first line of my notes

Author's Note: For some reason FF likes to copy the first line of my notes. Anyways, I just say it's the gremlins at work. Soooo…been a while, no? I apologize for that, had major writers block and been working on other stories. You may or may not like this segment but I think that it's important and stays true to Sakura's character. One last note, I love Jiraiya and Tsunade and I think it's terribly sad that he is "dead" in the manga –sobs—so in my story he is alive and well!

-

_In which the rain continues to fall and hearts are divided…_

-

Do you remember the old saying, _rain, rain go away and come again some other day_?

Well in a moment like this I wish that the rain would continue to fall from the heavens and cease all movement and thought. For the moment the rain ceases our journey will continue and we'll become one step closer to Konoha or our impending doom.

Sasuke-kun's attempt at not falling asleep has finally failed. He's been fighting sleep for the last few hours as we sit across from one another with the glow of the fire creating eerie shadows on the cave walls where we have sought refuge. It's as if he's afraid that if he falls asleep then I will disappear and he will find himself reading the letter concealing the information of my death.

It's hard to explain, it's as if a piece of my heart is rejoicing to have Sasuke-kun back in my life. Yet, I stop and place a hand on my chest, for it's as if my heart is constricting painfully within, and the other half is overcome with sadness for I am without Kakashi. My heart is torn apart and I can only close my eyes and bow my head for I do not understand how it is that I am expected to feel.

-

"So what happened? How did you get so far off course?" questioned Shikamaru stoking the fire while the rain continued to fall outside of the cave.

The shinobi's eye glazed over as the memory flooded his mind's eye…

_There had been no warning. Their peaceful walk through the woods had instantly become a nightmare. They had set forth from the village as soon as the sun had arisen high enough to be seen over the mountains and there had been no signs of any pursuers. If he had even the slightest inkling of what would have happened he would never had gone this route. _

_The dogs had been the first to detect the presence of the hidden Iwa troops…_

_The rest had happened too quickly that it was hard for Kakashi to even fathom. Had the attack truly taken place? Had Sakura really fallen?_

_They had been separated, but it would be alright for the moment for the two dogs had accompanied her. And he had made fast work of the Iwa troops with the use of his sharingan. He had gotten them all…or so he had thought…_

_When he rejoined her he found that she had done well enough on her own with the help of the dogs they had managed to take down a pair of pursuers. _

"_Kakashi!" cried the medic nin as she saw him appear from the woods and let out a sigh of relief._

_Yet it had been a sigh too soon. For just as the air escaped her lungs did she feel the chakra that she had become to fear the most. Her body betrayed her for she found herself immobilized by a genjutsu. Even a master can fall prey to an illusion given the right circumstances._

"_Kai!" her voice rang out but its sound was already too late for she could feel the blade of the kunai against her throat and the alarm in the copy nin's eyes. _

"Kakashi?"

Shikamaru's voice rang out separating the copy nin from his thoughts. He leaned back against the cave wall, "We had started out from Kiri early in the morning and thought it best to take the woods in order to get to the outside boarder in hopes of meeting up with Naruto and the others on time. As I'm sure you've already deducted Naruto and the others headed to Grass. Genma was supposed to be with Sakura and myself but I left him with three of my ninken in order to buy enough time to get Sakura to Kiri. Naruto and Sai are with my remaining two ninken."

The genius continued to stoke the fire with a sigh, "Given the amount of time that Sakura was held captive it's amazing that she's even alive. I thought it was Pakkun who confirmed her death."

"Hai, it was," came a voice from behind them as the pug entered the cave followed by his two subordinates.

"Sakura really did die that day," informed Kakashi, his visible eye lowering, "It was a life restoration jutsu that brought her back and it was on the captain's orders that she be kept alive in order to study."

"Of course," sadly remarked Shikamaru, "Sakura's got almost as many techniques as Tsunade and her knowledge of medic ninjutsu would be enough to give any one the upper hand."

-

"Tsunade," began Jiraiya with a sigh looking at the full bottle of sake on her desk.

This could only mean one thing; the woman had gone from grieving shishou to angry hokage. Neither teams had sent messages through a spirit summon, and she knew damn well both Kakashi and Sasuke could summon. Now she was just plain angry. Either the teams had officially run into trouble along the way, they were being held by the enemy, or Team Kakashi's bodies were hidden in an unknown location that not even the sharingan wielder or a tactical genius could uncover. And not knowing the answer to her question was driving her insane.

"Now Tsunade, it's only been a few days," Jiraiya tried to reason, "I'm sure that—

The look in her eyes told him to stop and just let out a sigh for it was pointless to argue with her as she informed him, "Sakura is dead," her fist clenched against the wood off the desk, "I have one missing team, and I've sent the best to search for them, I've received no word that Iwa has been stopped or that Team Kakashi has been found. How do you think I must feeling knowing that if Team Kakashi is dead and Sasuke's and Shikamaru's deaths have followed it is due to my orders?"

And he did the only thing he could do; he sighed and offered her a glass of sake in hopes that it would ease her temper. He felt that she was going to need another desk in her office before the day was through.

-

"You know Sakura," spoke a blonde haired teen while closing up her family's flower shop, "I decided that daffodils are really beautiful, but the flower that you became was by far the prettiest that I've seen. I just wanted you to know that even if you can't hear me."

She pulled the blinds in the shop window down to hide her tears and whispered, "Shika, you better come home like you promised you would you lazy ass."

-

"I'll take first watch Kakashi," commented Shikamaru, his back resting against the opposite side of the cave's wall, "You and your dogs look like hell."

The scowl from the trio of canines did not go unnoticed and Pakkun opted to go to bat for his team by clearing up one thing, "It's Kakashi who looks like hell."

"Right," began Shikamaru with a sweatdrop appearing, "anyways Kakashi no offense but you really do look like you could use some sleep."

Upon seeing what appeared to be the copy nin's mouth beginning to open the genius continued, "At least try to sleep. It won't do Sakura or Sasuke any good when we find them if we're too beat to get to Grass and meet up with the others."

The copy nin admitted his defeat, yet in some corner of his mind he knew that sleep would not come easy. There were too many questions lingering about Shikamaru's early comment about Naruto and ramen…no it hadn't been about Naruto and ramen…

His brain was already becoming clouded but one last thought managed to escape, it had been about Sasuke and Sakura…

-

His faithful companion was sick and tired of this woman. Why had he been the one to be nominated to stay with Genma while the others traced the woman's scent back to her current residence?

A weight hitting the table jarred the dog from his thoughts as he stood, lifting his head and letting it rest on Genma's lap.

"What did—

"Seems my wife can't hold her liquor," informed Genma was a laugh, noticing the bar occupants giving him a questioning glance, "Come on darling, up you go…"

The shinobi walked past a group of locals and laughed nervously, "Women, such lightweights and on our honey moon no less. Won't be getting any tonight."

The chuckles he heard as he left the establishment was evidence enough that he was in the clear as the dog sighed walking in a heel next to him.

"Now what do you expect to do with your wife?"

"Isn't that a little personal?" questioned the senbon wielder with a grin, watching as the dog rolled its eyes, "I'm going to take her back to her home of course and then we'll have a friendly conversation about our mutual friend Sakura."

"So what did you do to her?" continued the dog his interest peaked.

"I simply switched the glasses, appears she put a pleasant little paralysis drug in my glass. If I didn't know any better I'd say she really liked me."

The dog snorted as the continued on, "Serves her right, she kept kicking me with those heals all during your delightful conversation."

-

"Sai?"

"Hai?"

How is it that even in complete darkness Naruto had this ability to know when people—who were trying to sleep but weren't quite there yet but really close to accomplishing the task—were still awake enough to have an intelligent conversation?

"You think Sakura-chan's alright?"

His voice seemed uncertain. It was probably due to the fact that no communication could be passed between them and the other two members of their team. The floor boards of the abandoned barn creaked, it was more than likely due to Bull's massive weight, and the shinobi could only hope that his reflexes would continue to be better than those of Naruto's—who had been kicked several times by the dog as he changed positions. The smaller dog had opted to sleep next to Sai that evening.

"I think that…" began the shinobi, "no I believe that we'll see Sakura again in a few more days."

"Right," replied the would be hokage with enthusiasm, "Sakura-chan's going to be so excited to be going home to Konoha. We'll take down those Iwa troops and be home before we know it."

"Hai…"

-

The rain outside carried a chilling wind as she continued to stare with unfocused eyes at the fire. Her heart was a battlefield torn up by her emotions. Is it wrong to be in love with someone and to love another? Is it selfish to want to share a part of your life with two men who helped influence the woman she had become? What about the unresolved feelings? To have the ability to see _beneath the beneath_.

She sighed; it figured she'd have to mentally quote Kakashi at a moment like this. But what would she see beneath the beneath of her heart when the fog cleared? That was an outcome that frightened her. Was she really willing to lose either of them?

Lightning lit the surrounding area causing her to jump. The medic nin scowled, biting the inside of her lip at her inability to calm her nerves.

_Sakura you've got to get over it. How are you supposed to help Sasuke-kun or Kakashi in this state? And remember, Naruto, Genma, and even Sai are waiting for you in Grass. Be strong Sakura, you can do this. _

Yet her clenched fists holding the fabric of her skirt told her that perhaps she wasn't as calm as she portrayed herself to be. Yet when a gentle hand fell upon hers, she felt her grip slowly loosening and looked up to find the Uchiha now sitting beside her with his back leaned up against the wall of the cave.

"It's alright to show emotion, Sakura," began the shinobi at her side, his eyes focusing on flames of the fire, to anyone else he would appear to rather aloof, "isn't that what you once told me?"

"Sasuke-kun, I—

His voice stopped her in mid-sentence as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his hand still covered hers, "Why don't you try to sleep? After all it's my turn to keep watch."

And like that the emotions of fear were lulled by his simple words. Uchiha Sasuke always had a calming effect on her since their days as genin. If he told her and Naruto that they would be fine then both had put their faith in his word and all other concerns soon faded.

And that simple phrase that had lingered in her mind after all these years was finally brought to light. This entire time she had over analyzed its meaning…

"Arigato…" she murmured feeling her eyelids begin to close and a gentle hand on the side of her head pushing until the side of her face was resting against his shoulder.

For she finally understood the meaning of the word _arigato _as it was spoken by the Uchiha on that night so many years ago. It wasn't merely a word but an emotion that needed to be portrayed through the phrase in order to hopefully express the words that the boy could not have spoken. _Arigato_ for all that you have done for me. _Arigato_ for I know your words are true but I cannot take you with me. And _arigato_ like _love_ is unconditional, for it is an unconditional gratitude that will never die.

The raven haired shinobi glanced down at the pink haired medic whose head was resting on his shoulder and smirked, "You're still annoying."

"I heard that…" came a tired response, yet the smile on her face didn't go unnoticed.

"Good. You were supposed to."

"…Sasuke-kun?" her voice was no more than whisper competing with the rain and the crackling of the fire.

"Hn?" he responded his focus now on the flames.

"I'm glad you're here," was her sincere reply.

"Aa. Get some sleep Sakura, we'll find the others in the morning…"

And she believed his word once more…

-

Ok short and sweet but I'm alive. Please review if you are to be kind. Again been a while, sometimes it takes a while to get back into the swing of things. However I feel even rusty it's not a bad segment.


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